Cricket goes on Holiday
by athyrarose
Summary: One day while hiking a storm hits out of nowhere, and Cricket is transported to a land full of attractive, bearded dwarves, snarky wizards, fiddgity hobbits and prissy elves. Will what she discovers there be enough to keep her there, even if she does find a way back? And will she ever be the same if she does?
1. Chapter 1

_**I own nothing but a heavy gaming computer...but its awesome**_

There had been nothing special about the day to Cricket when she woke up. Nothing out of the ordinary or different, just another beginning to her planned on eating, going on a hike at the park, and playing skyrim on her pc until it was time to hit the bar with her friends. she had just put on new mod on skyrim that made all the dragons Thomas the tank engine, and honestly it was scarier than the real thing. not only that but one of her friends was finally dumping her ass of a boyfriend, and they were celebrating by heading to the dueling piano bar tonight. Thank goodness for her work schedule allowing her to actually go out on the weekend.

She had woken up at 9AM, after staying up all after work the day before to get back on a regular sleep schedule. She hopped out of bed, hearing her sister and 4 month old nephew already awake in the living room of the apartment. After stopping in her bathroom to brush her teeth and step briefly on the scale to check if she had lost anymore weight, she left the bathroom and walked into the kitchen towards the fridge, pausing long enough to mumble a good morning to her sister and smile at her gurgling nephew trying to eat her deadpool popcap bobble head. Her sister popped deadpool back on the shelf with her dean Winchester and Loki popcaps, then switched it for a spoonful of baby food.

"Is he finally taking to real food?"

"Yea" her sister said smiling"I gave him pears this morning instead of apples and he seems to like it a lot better, still just as messy though."

"Thats good, hopefully he will sleep a little better through the night now, our walls are paper thin, and you arent the only one who wakes up when he cries."

"Yea yea...and dont worry i will wipe off deadpool when i finish feeding him, he just really likes him."

Cricket smiled as she took out the stuff for her morning smoothie. she had made them for one meal a day for a month now, and had already lost ten pounds from it, and was still going strong. Todays ingredients were a container of boston cream pie yogurt, half a cup of ice, a white chocolate milk mini carton, a scoop of vanilla zeal protein powder and white chocolate syrup. All that went into her blender for a pretty filling meal. It was also the only way she could stand yogurt, so even better. Most of the time she added a third cup of fiber plus almond milk as well. but she was out today. "I know, i think i am going to get him that deadpool plush I found on Etsy. That and the Fairy Tail symbol for my car."

Cricket was a bit of a nerd, but honestly didn't care if people thought that was a bad thing. She had a batman tattoo on her wrist, Sonic the hedgehog shot glasses, Comic things everywhere in her apartment..she even had the Zelda sword on her wall. One of her life goals was to meet TeamFourStar in real life at an anime panel...

"What time are you going on your hike today?" her sister asked." I think the last of your bag is supposed to be in today."She wiped baby food off her face as she asked this.

"As soon as i finish with my shower i am going to head out and get it over with, that way I have plenty of time to relax a bit before we head to the bar. A night out will be good for her after the shit she has been through."

"It will be good for you as well, just try not to drink too much and punch a redneck in the face again. He did deserve it and it was pretty funny, but you don't need to get kicked out of the bar. At least last time the bouncers saw what he did before you punched him."

"I will promise to try" Cricket said smiling at the memory, before finishing off her smoothie and washing it out in the sink. She then headed to the bathroom, picking out some clothes before jumping in the shower. She quickly washed her hair face and body, luckily not needing to shave as she had gotten waxed the day before, wanting to try it out before she headed to Australia next year, along with celebrating losing her first ten pounds.

Some celebration it was though, her legs still stung.

The only consolation was that she wouldn't have to shave for at least 3 weeks. She wanted to be somewhat ready when she headed to Australia with her friend next year, thus the hiking, leg waxing and smoothie drinking. she wanted to be in somewhat good shape for it, and so far had a good start going. She also had a farfetched dream that she might meet Liam Hemsworth and Travis Fimmel while over there, but that was besides the point. She probably wouldn't even be able to talk to the Vikings star if she did meet him, just stand there and stare...or hide. After enjoying the thought of a shirtless Ragnar for a while, she dried off and pulled on some underthings, a pair of pant and a cream-colored long peasant blouse, along with pulling her red tinted dark brown hair into a messy ponytail, a few thick strands of hair escaping to turn curly along the sides of her face. She finished by quickly applying some tinted moisturizer and grabbing some socks before heading back into the living room.

"Hey, your package came in while you were in the shower, i set it on the couch for you to open, her sister said before heading out the door for a quick smoke.

Grinning and sitting down at the couch, she grabbed a small knife and slit open the package, excited to have the last piece of a year-long project. She had put together a ready for anything bug-out bag, buying two pieces a month, or one depending on how expensive the item was. It wasnt that she was expecting something particular to happen, but was a firm believer in being prepared for when something did happen. So far she had a weather-proof hazard backpack with attachable solar panel, a portable filtration bottle that filtered 100 gallons of water, three-piece tactical weapon set that included a shovel, tomahawk and karambit with a shoulder holster, 150 piece emergency kit with some extra stuff thrown in herself, pocket chainsaw, Eat'n'tool, 12-in one pocket tool, Lumen tactical flashlight with extra batteries, Fire knife, pocket socket hand generator, tactical station grip gloves, two sharp medium-sized daggers in sheaths and todays package, a long handle tactical hammer she was going to double as a walking stick on her hikes. All of this went into or onto her backpack along with a full change of clothes, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, mini roll of tp, protein bars, various small long-term foods, 2 Mres, large bottle of water, a tablet with all of her music, movies, pictures and ebooks on it, razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, bottle of all-in-one shampoo and bodywash, mini manicure set, headphones, book, lipchap,a couple of 5-hour energys, brush with hairties, folded monster energy rain jacket, belt, towel, washcloth and her extra pink fox racing beanie.

While this might seem like a lot to some people, she thought it was a perfectly acceptable amount of things to keep in there, and it all just fit, considering all the weapons but two would be on her or on the outside of the backpack. It also all managed to fit with just a small bit of leftover room. Prepared she definitely was.

"You should practice lugging that heavyass thing around with you today." said her sister eyeing the well-stuffed pack. "It should be quite a good exercise walking the trails with it."

Cricket thought that was actually a pretty good idea, so after pulling one her dark brown leather jacket, brown sketchers, batman ring and silver fossil watch, she grabbed the backpack and long hammer, thinking it was a good thing the park would be mostly empty today, as everyone would still be at work or school and wouldn't be there to wonder why someone was walking around with a backpack and a hammer. After waving goodbye to her sister, she headed downstairs to her car.

And in the distance on a perfectly clear day there was thunder...

Elsewhere, another reality The Prancing Pony

Thorin sipped his ale as he watched the wizard finally sit down. He had already finished his meal and was getting tired of waiting. They were meeting up one last time to finalize things before they all met up together to meet Gandalfs burglar he had kept insisting on. While he understood how one might come in handy, he was worried he would just end up a liability. He supposed it wouldn't be fair to judge until they met, but from the little he already knew about hobbits he didn't have too high of hopes. As he continued down this train of thought, he realized Gandalf was saying something to him.

"What?"

"I said are completely prepared for this journey? It will not be an easy one as you well know, and with as much you have riding on it you cannot to jump in half heartedly."

"I am, just thinking to myself. Are you? i would hate to lose our wizard this soon..."

Gandalf sadly smiled at Thorin."I am glad to hear you say that, as i need one more thing promised before we start the journey to Erebor. It is a small thing, but a thing none the less i must have assurance of."

"You are being more vague than usual wizard, what else could you possible need promised? We are already going to get your chosen burglar, which we agreed on when we started planning on the quest. What more could you need?" Thorin was starting to get angry, banging his fist on the table as he finished speaking.

"It is...another companion. I have read the signs, and they say we will have someone traveling a long way to join our quest, someone who will have great impact on it. We will be meeting up with them very soon, and need to ask them to join when we do. The quest will fail if we do not, and it is either we recruit them when the time comes or you can find yourself another wizard!" Gandalf could be quite imposing when he wanted to be, even sitting down, and Thorin knew it was not a good thing to anger him. He waited a minute for Gandalf to calm back down before raising an eyebrow at the wizard and answering.

"Fine. But if they become too much of a burden or endanger my men I will be forced to..re-evaluate my decision. Understood?"

Gandalf sighed and agreed, knowing this was a fast victory considering the stubbornness of dwarves, even with the but was a good thing he did not tell Thorin that last member was a female, or the answer would had most likely stayed at no."Agreed. It will not come to that."

"We shall see. As it is we do not know most of what to put in the contract the them to sign."

"Just make out a basic contract, we will change what we need to when the time comes."

"Do you even have a name for me to put on it?"

"Yes, the name will be Cricket."

Thorin raised an eyebrow at the name to the grey wizard, but did not press the matter, wanting to finish the night out and get some sleep before heading towards the Shire the next day. Gandalf caught the elbow of the waitress to ask for an ale himself. As he waited for the drink and Thorin finished his, Gandalf wondered briefly about the companion joining them. He did not tell Thorin that she was going to need help of a sort from them as well, and how big an impact a traveler from another world could possibly make as he puffed on his pipe. Only time would tell...

"So tell he how to get to the Shire.." Thorin said as in the distance, thunder started to rumble...

*********************************************************  
Forest in middle earth

"Squirrel!"

"for the last time Kili no more squirrels! We have had them every night this week and there is barely any meat on them! Cant you shoot down a bird or something?"

"The younger prince rolled his eyes at his brother and put down his bow away."I cant help it if the stupid buggers are everywhere. And don't you think if I would if i could find a bird? I think they are keeping away from you." He finished, sticking his tongue out at him before continuing down the path.

Resigned, Fili followed him."Doesnt mean i have to like it" he grumbled.

They continued through the forest till they found a rocky clearing perfect for setting up the night camp in. There was even a small stream with fish close by, so Fili could finally get something else for dinner. After catching about 6 of them and stringing them together, he came back to Kili finishing up camp right as thunder rumbled in the distance. Lucky some of the rocks formed a small cave for them to sleep in incase it started raining.

"Will you start that fire so we can get the fish cooked? I don't want to be in the middle of it when the rain sets in."

"Yea sure...definately didnt expect a storm tonight, that's kind of foreboding."

Fili smirked at him and elbowed him in the ribs"Dont be such a scardy dwarf, it's just a storm."

"I'm not scared Fee" Kili said smacking him in the arm and glaring at him "It's just sudden and creepy, that's all"

And as the young princes sat next to the cooking fish, the dark clouds rapidly approached them, then thunder getting louder and the lightning closer...

At the same time, 10 other dwarves and one hobbit were all similarly watching the storm approach that had seemingly came out of nowhere...

Cricket had finished off her hike when the storm had finally hit. "where the hell did this come from? It was supposed to be nice all day, stupid weatherman" she grumbled."So much for reading under the trees before i headed home.."

She quickened her step, not wanting to get caught in the downpour when the rain hit, when she heard a sharp crack from above her. She looked up just in time to see a heavy tree branch hit her, having been struck by lightning. The branch knocked her to ground, causing her to smack her head pretty hard on a rock, the rain hitting her in the face as everything slowly faded to dark...

When she came to she clutched her head in pain as she opened her eyes to two other pairs looking down worriedly at her, golden and brown in color...

_**Hi guys! any feedbackon this would be wonderful, i am still trying to get the fanfiction thing right, as of now i know i am going to romance Cricket but i dont know whowith yet**_


	2. Meeting

_**As always i own nothing but like to use imagination**_

Cricket yelped and tried to back away from the two, but her back hit a wall, causing her head to scream in protest.

"Whoa whoa its ok miss, we arent going to hurt you," Kili said, trying his best to calm the poor woman down,"you were passed out when we found you, so we carried you to our campsite. What..what do you remember?"

Cricket looked at him strangely, thinking that the two, while dressed a bit strange didn't look too dangerous, plus had kind eyes. She let herself relax a bit before answering. "You said you found me passed out? I..was finishing up a hike at the park when this storm came out of nowhere. There was a loud noise above when and when I looked up, I was hit by a heavy limb and knocked to the ground, hitting my head on a rock. The last thing I remember is everything going dark..then waking up to you two. Am I not still at the park?"

Kili and Fili looked at each other for a moment before answering. "A park? No..miss there was a bright light and you...well we think you fell out of the light and landed on the ground in front of our campsite. The storm was still going and we couldn't just leave you there."

Cricket stared at them before bursting out laughing."You are both kidding right?" she asked, stopping the laughter when she noticed they werent laughing or smiling. At all. "You..you arnt kindding..what do you mean fell out of the light Mr..." She realized she didn't know either of their names at the same time they did.

Both smiling they came to their feet and gave a small bow "Kili" then "Fili" then together "at your service".

She smiled back at them, and the silliness of being bowed to, before standing wobbly to her own feet. Lucky for her they both caught a hand, making sure she didn't fall over. She attempted a curtsy herself before answering "My name is Ashley, but everyone calls me Cricket. Well, except for my family, they stick with Ashley."

Smiling cheekily, they both place a small kiss on her hand, saying "a pleasure miss Cricket" before helping her sit back down. When they had sat themselves down as well, Fili started to answer her question. "What we mean miss Cricket..."

"Just Cricket, if you dont mind."

"What we mean cricket is a storm hit here suddenly as well. In the middle of it right in front of our camp there was a flash of bright light like lightning had struck, and a thud from inside it. When it was gone and we looked to where it had hit, you were laying there. We carried you and your stuff here, you woke up, and here we are."

She was silent for a while, taking thoughtfully in what they had told her. After awhile she asked if she could see her bag, as she wanted to check something. They handed it to her, curious about what she could need to check, as well as what could be in the unzipped the front pocket of the bag and, thankful she had the foresight to get a waterproof bag, took out her phone, turning on the phone to check for a signal. There wasnt one of course, not even one freaking bar. She sighed and put it back, part of what she was suspecting having been proven. The two names niggling at the back of her mind, and along with the clothes and their accents she knew she was probably right, as much as she didn't want to believe it. First though, she needed confirmation from them.

"This may sound like a strange question...or maybe not considering how you found me...but where am I exactly? Because i have this strange feel that i'm very far where i passed out. And that scares me a bit.

Fili looked at her sadly "You are in the Middle-Earth my lady. In a forest maybe a day's journey from the Shire. Are you as far from home as you believed?"

She paled and covered her mouth with her hand, not trusting herself to speak at first. She knew where she was, she knew the name well. Unfortunately it had been awhile since she had read any of the books, and she could only remember a few bare pieces of information from them, though she had a weird feeling there were more to the strange gaps in her memory than that, as she normally knew a bit more than she could actually remember. It was like there was a block."I am farther from my home than is possible, it seems. May I be..alone for a minute?" Not waiting for an answer, she walks to the other side of the small cave and sits down, her back against the wall, pulling her knees up to her chest and breathes in deeply. This was definitely not what she expected when making her bugout bag. It would come in handy now, that was for sure. She started shaking, realizing she had no idea if she could get back, or how to do so. Would her sister be ok by herself? How long before anyone noticed she was missing?

While all this was whirring through her mind, she suddenly felt two warm bodies sit on either side of her. "Just how far from home are you?" Kili asked softly.

She sighed and answered "Just, try to keep an open mind, all right? I...I don't think im even in the same world anymore if what you say is true. I am far enough i have no idea how to get back." Kilis eyes widened slightly, and he was quiet a minute before speaking. "This may come as a surprise, but i believe you. Considering the way we both found you it would be hard not to. Besides, there is too much magic in this world to not belive in something like that." Cricket gave him a grateful smile and Kili perked up. "Why dont you come with us to the Shire? I bet Gandalf could help you, he is a powerful wizard!"

"Do you really think so?" Kilis youthful excitement was contagious, and made her excited as well. "Of course! Why don't we all get some sleep, and when we wake up we can all head there together!"

"Excellent idea Kee." said Fili smiling at them both, glad to see the girl a bit less sad. He handed her a blanket as she relaxed more by the fire. "Sleep well, and tomorrow we will try to get you some help home."

Nodding her thanks, she takes the blanket thanks the stars she ran into someone as kind as these two. She didn't realize how tired she actually was, as while staring at the fire with them her eyes start drifting closed...

When she wakes up the next morning, the first thing she notices is the forest around her, reminding her what happened and where she is. The second thing she notices is that there were two warm presences up against her on either side. Apparently at some point they had all fell asleep next to one another, Fili with one arm around her shoulders with her head nestled into his side, while Kili on the other side had his head in her lap, cuddling his blanket like a teddy bear. smiling at the absurdity of the situation, she runs her fingers slightly through his thick brown hair, how young he looks at the moment not escaping her. She glances up at Fili, him looking older asleep, with his full beard and braided mustache, but still keeping a young aura.

She can't keep in the giggle that escapes her and feels both the young princes stir. They slowly open their eyes, taking in their surroundings before realizing their sleeping situation. Both faces turn red as Fili moves his arm, giving a murmered"Sorry", while Kili just grins and snuggles back into his blanket and her lap, intending to stay a bit longer apparently. Funny as it was, she had pressing urges to take care of, and his head wasnt helping matters much. "Kinda need to get up, Kili" she said sliding to the side a bit so his head hit the ground. Covering his face with the blanket, he complains "What was that for?" while Fili just laughs behind her "I was comfortable."

"That may be, but I have to ..um..take care of natures call."

Both stare at her blankly.

"Argh, i have to relive myself..."

She laughs at their expressions as they point towards the small stream area. She thanks them and grabs a couple of things from her bag before heading that way, hearing a smack behind her, and the two start arguing.

"What was that for?"

"You cuddled back into her lap?"

"I wasnt the one with his arm around her all night!"

"She laughs to herself as she gets to the stream, and, after using the restroom, washes her face and hands in the stream, as well as brushes her teeth. No one could tell her she was paranoid for making up the bag now, as much handy as it was here. Of course she would have to make it home first for it to matter.

Heading back she sees they have already completely packed up the camp. She compliments them for their quick work, telling them how nice it is to see a man who knows how to get things done jokingly.

They both beam at the compliment. "You should see what else we can do" Kili says mischievously while Fili smacks him on the back of the head. "But we arent men, we're dwarves, dwarrow."

Cricket cocks her head to the side in surprise. "But im only 5'4, and you aren't that much shorter than me, only a couple on inches is anything! Did I shrink?"

They both laugh and Fili takes off a boot for her to inspect. The first thing she notices is how heavy it is, the second thing that they actually added about three inches to their height without actually being heeled. That meant they were only about 5 feet tall!

She hands it back in wonder while Kili explains how they are made especially for Dwarrow, to make it a little easier to blend in for those of them that travel quite a bit. "It also makes us about the same heighth as our uncle, who doesn't actually need to wear them as tall as he is. Not only that it puts a little extra something into any kicking you do during a fight."

Nodding her understanding she turns to her own stuff, pulling on her own shoes and jacket, before grabbing the bag and walking hammer. She kept wishing she could remember more of the book, but every time she tried and got close it slipped away. The most she could remember is most of the names and the barest facts. She did, however, now know the timeline at least, and that the two she was with was part of the company meeting bilbo for the quest. As she digested this, wondering why in the hell she was taking in all of this so well, she heard Kili ask if she was ready. "Yes, if you two are."

"Then lets head out."

After walking for a while, they both started asking questions about where she was from, both being the curious young dwarves they were. She smiled and answered them the best she could, somehow ending up on the topic on television, what is was and how it worked(they were very interested in American ninja warrior), What exactly the function of her bugout bag was, and if she had made the hammer herself. And, of course, food was a favorite topic.

"Does that mean you are a cook?" Kili asked after talking about the different types of potatoes she liked to make. "Me? No, I just like cooking, thats all. I like food, and experimenting with food, and honestly i just like feeding people. Those things just seem to help with food coming out well." This ended up turning into a conversation about what pintrest was as she told them about some of the recipes she had found and tried out. They both wanted to try the scrambled egg stuffed baked potatoes, and Kili had a big sweet tooth.

"Bombur would like you" commented Fili after a while. "I bet the two of you could talk all day and never run out of topics, not to mention could make an amazing meal together."

"Who's Bombur?"

"He is the cook for the company. Problem is he eats almost everything he cooks, so he is the biggest one in the company. Doesnt change the fact he is a good fighter though."

"Maybe I can meet him and we could swap recipes. Are you two good fighters as well?"

They both puffed out their chests and grinned. "Of course! We have been training since we were little to fight with all sorts of weapons. I enjoy using double swords though, while Kili is a very good archer. I also keeps small knives everywhere on me."

Cricket thought to herself if she was going to be in this world for a while, maybe she should learn how to fight as well. When she mentioned to the boys, they both agreed that would be a good idea. "If we werent all going on the quest I would say Dwalin could tech you a bit, he is the best fighter of us all, except maybe for uncle Thorin."

It went on like that for the rest of the day, the princes seeming to be very interested in superheroes, so as it got dark and they finally reached the Shire, Cricket had been telling them about the x-men, and was thinking how much the two of them would probably enjoy exploring her world. However they stopped as Fili slowed down and pointed to a rune glowing on the outside of a door. "Thats the sign Gandolf said to look for, we must be here." Fili and Kili glanced at each other and Cricket before opening the gate and walking up the steps to the door. As they raised their fists to knock Cricket found herself very nervous, not knowing what to expect, or if Gandalf could even help her get home. As she stepped up behind the two the door opened...

_**Sorry if it seems like a slow begining but i just want to set the stage i bit, i like going into detail ok? Please review and let me know if you think i am doing any good or not.**_


	3. Signing

_**I have just noticed the stupid spellcheck messed up gandalfs name to gandolf, so i will be going back in to fix it, sorry for the stupidness. In the meantime i own nothing but several unmatching socks and ze cricket lady. Please review!**_

"Kili and Fili at your service."  
Bilbo just stares as yet two more dwarves end up standing outside his doorway, both giving a little bow. He does however notice the amused young woman standing behind them as they do, who gives a little wave at him, along with her name, as the two young dwarves hear talking from the house and barge on in to Bilbo's displeasure, laying their weapons next to the door as they head towards the sound. He gapes at them as they walk past, moving his mouth without any success at words coming out. Cricket looks at him in sympathy as he realizes that she is still standing there awkwardly.

"You may as well come in, at least you had the decency to wait."

"Thank you" she says, crossing the threshold and placing her bag and hammer beside the other weapons."I'm sorry about those two, it didn't take long for me to figure out they are pretty impulsive."

"Yes, I can see that."

"I don't suppose I could use your bathroom for a minute? We have been walking awhile and I kinda feel gross. I just want to wash up a bit."

"Of course, third door on the left, down the right hallway."

She thanks him and heads to the bathroom, marveling on how much bigger it was on the inside. She gives her hands and face a good wash, getting the majority of the visible sweat and dust off of her, before noticing how haphazard her hair looked in the mirror, as well how tired she looked. She takes her hair down and runs her fingers through it, glad that she grew her bangs out enough that they were out of her face, and puts her hair back into a simple low ponytail, vowing to french braid it later. It was just finally long enough to do so, and she would definitely take advantage of it.

She leaves the bathroom and walks back towards the main hall, stopping at the pantry door to see Kili and Fili talking to a large, intimidating looking dwarf with tattoos on his bald head. As they begin throwing food around, she nabs a chunk of cheese out of the air and grins at Kili, nibbling on it as there is a knock on the door. Bilbo stomps over to it, yelling something about no more uninvited guests. Unfortunately for him but to her delight, the minute he opens the door a whole dogpile of dwarfs fall through the doorway, all cursing and grunting in surprise. Bilbo just looks at the pile in horror as they all begin getting up, and Cricket is holding her sides from laughing so hard. The princes, hearing the noise, peek in and stand next to her, laughing their heads off as well. The bald dwarf, Dwalin, and his older brother Balin, just stand there, Dwalin rolling his eyes and Balin smiling gently. No one had seemed to notice Cricket yet, but she suddenly stops laughing as a much taller head pokes its way through the door, looking sheepishly at Bilbo. She elbows Kili in the side and whispers "Who is that?" He looks over to the door way and grins.

"Thats Gandalf, the one we were telling you about. He is a great wizard, and will hopefully be able to help you get home."

"He also does the best fireworks ever!"

"Are you sure about that?" She asks dubiously. "He looks like a strong wind could knock him over."

"Of course we are! Trust us!"

Hearing the princes talk Balin turn towards them and finally notices the young woman standing next to them. Slightly taller than most dwarves, but shorter than most humans he had met, she had thick brown hair with a dark red sheen to it, pulled back into a low ponytail with a curious piece of pink fabric. She had dark blue eyes that seemed to take in everything around her, extremely long eyelashes and an open, trusting face, As well, while she wasnt exactly skinny, she was curvy, and in better shape than some. She was wearing a strange pair of trousers, dark blue in material and a long cream-colored shirt, no vest or overcoat over it. She was talking with they young princes, and they all seemed very comfortable around each other, her hitting one of them on the arm as they laughed with her about something. Curious, he walked over to the group.

"Who might this be lads? I thought it was just the company meeting here tonight."

Hearing this every head in the room save the princes turn towards them, curious as to what Balin was talking about. They all looked on curiously as Cricket turned bright red, all the attention on her unnerving. Kili, not noticing the tension, pops up answering his question, while Fili places a hand on her shoulder for support. "We found her last night in the woods during that storm that hit, her name is Cricket. We brought her here in hopes of Gandalf finding a way to get her home."

"And where is she from?"

"What an excellent question!" Kili says grinning. "She just happens to be from..."

"Maybe we shouldnt jump right into that..."Cricket mutters to him.

"Quite right." says Gandalf, walking over to the group and standing in front of her. He smiles gently at her before turning to the company. "At least not before I have spoken to her. Why don't you all go eat and we will be back in a moment?" Not waiting for an answer he steers her to the sitting room, placing two chairs next to the fireplace and gesturing for her to sit. Giving one last worried looked towards Fili and Kili, them smiling at her before joining the rest in the dining room, she complies, sitting and twiddling her thumbs nervously while Gandalf packs a pipe with tobacco. He takes a long hit before speaking to her.

"There is no reason to be nervous young lady, you are in no trouble nor danger with me."

"I know"she replies, finally looking at him. She tries to relax a bit as he looks on kindly at her. "It's just, so much has happened to me in the past couple of days, along with everything else. Where I am now, who I am with...it can't possibly be real but it is. I don't even know how or why im here, or how to get back. I feel like I should totally be freaking out right now, but im not. Why am I taking it all so well?" she is almost close to tears as she says this, and stops talking to calm down a bit.

"Why don't you tell me everything you do actually know at this point up til now and we will go from there? That way I know best how to help you."

So she does. As he leans forward in the chair paying close attention to her story, she recounts how the day had started, where she had been, what she was doing when the storm hit out of nowhere, and everything that had happened since she had opened her eyes to Kili and Fili. She ended with making it to the hobbit hole, a small tear making its way down her face. "And now im here, freaking out about whats going on back home and if I can even get back. So can you help me? Please? I don't have much with me I can give you but..."

Gandalf shushes her, wiping away the tear as he does. "You have been through quite an ordeal, and I am sorry for that. You are also very lucky it was those two that found you, not everyone is as kind as they are. Let me ask you something. You said in your world, this, what we are doing, is all written down in a story. How much of it do you remember?"

"Barely anything, though I do have random things popping back up the longer I am here. I know who you are, who most of the company is, and what the quest is for. I also know someone, maybe a couple of someones, will die towards the end of it, but for the life of me I can't place who it is. Its like there is a block on most of my memories of it. Why do you ask?"

"Just a thought for now. We may be able to help each other after a while. You see, a little while back, I was actually shown that the final member of our company would be arriving right before we were leaving, from a far away place. That was all I was given about the person unfortunately, along with a name. That, and the fact that our quest would most likely fail without this person joining with us. No hint of how they do it or what they do or why. Can you guess what that name was?"

She gulped and looked him in the eye.

"It was Cricket. So you can understand my asking how much you could remember."

"You think I am meant to join up with you guys? Are you crazy? I'm nothing special, I can cook and have a fondness for sharp pointy objects, that's about it! I would be as useful as a box of rocks!"

"I happen to think a box of rocks could be very useful in the right situation. You already have the trust and friendship of the young princes. And who knows, you mentioned someone dying? Maybe your being here will change that, stop it from happening, have you thought of that? Not to mention your making your, bug out bag as you called it, may have just been fate preparing you for this journey."

"What about my getting home?"

"Alas, as we are leaving tomorrow i would have no time to research your predicament. But, we are bound to meet several different types of people on our journey. Whats to say one of them might know how to help you? Not to mention I can research it a bit as we make the journey itself. I can say that from the way it sounds you were brought here, you most likely would be brought back to right after the accident happened."

She thought about all of that for moment, chewing on her lower lip as she pondered his words. It would be pretty cool going on an adventure like this. And what if her being there could save someones life? Not only that, but with being in a strange place like this, she would rather be with people she knew, was comfortable with, than sit around with some stranger waiting for the quest to end. In the end she decided it was worth it, knowing she would feel horrible if because she didn't go, the quest failed and people died, after being told there was a chance she could have helped.

"You really think we might run into someone who could help? That I could help?" She asked finally.

"Only one way to be sure." He said smiling.

"Allright then, im in. Good luck convincing everyone else to let me come though. Pretty sure most of them are anti-female presence on stuff like this. I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb."

"Just you let me worry about that." he said winking at her.  
*******************************************************************

They talked for about 30 more minutes, Gandalf wishing to learn more about her and her life, before they walked back to the dining room area. It was a war zone as they stopped in the doorway. Everyone had raided the rest of poor Bilbo's pantry, and food was flying everywhere, as well as mugs of ale among all the dwarves, with only Balin sipping on a cup of tea. Kili looked up and noticed Cricket standing there, grinning and waving her over to where he and Fili were sitting. They had both apparently saved her a seat at the table. She grinned back and made her way to them, feeling several pairs of eyes on her as she made her way to them and sat down, Fili handing her a full mug and Kili a plate of food before going back to their own food. After a couple of minutes of eating and drinking, Balin cleared his throat and looked at Cricket. "So lass, is it true you come from another world? Thats quite a journey." he said, looking at her and raising an eyebrow. They entire table got quiet and turned to look at her.

She glares at Fili and Kili, who both just shrug in apology, before sighing and looking back to the bulk of the table. "its true, though I wish they hadn't told you quite yet."

"As do I." Gandalf said frowning. "But I suppose it can't be helped now, what with the impatience of youth. It is true, Master Balin, I can confirm what she says."

Balin nods and takes another drink of his tea, while the rest of the company looks to her with a mix of suspicion and curiosity. Kili smiles and whispers to her as the rest slowly start eating again. "Well, what did he say? Any good news?" Fili scoots closer so he can hear the conversation, as she sighs, before replying silently as to not disturb the others. "Apparently I am going with you guys on the quest."

"What?" they both exclaim loudly, drawing looks from a dwarf with strange hat and curved pigtails.

"He thinks I am going to somehow help on your quest, along with somehow meet someone on the way who can help me get home. So I guess I am pretty much stuck with you for a while. Surprise!"

They both grinned at her, excited gleams in their eyes. Well at least someone was excited about it. "Dont worry, we wont let you get hurt. Think of us as your unofficial bodyguards!"

She snorts and takes another drink of ale, thinking it was actually pretty good.

"Excuse me, Miss Cricket?"

She looks up in surprise to see Bofur( Gandalf had went over each of their names as they entered the dining room) looking over at her. "Yes? And just Cricket please, if you don't mind. Never been one for formalities."

He smiles and continues "Cricket then. Some of us were wondering if you could tell us a bit about your world, if you dont mind. Is is very different than from here?"

"A lot, yea." she had expected to get asked more about her world, and was willing to answer some questions if it broke the ice a bit. "There are several things here I have to get used to. We have advanced pretty far in some areas."

"Yea!" said Kili. "They have big boxes that stay cold and keep food from going bad!"

"And flying machines!" said Fili joining in.

"Horseless carriages!"

"Moving pictures!"

"Fireless torches!"

"Scrambled egg filled baked potatoes!"

"She has a little glass and metal window that she reads books on!"

"And a knife with a handle that come off you can store stuff in!"

"She laughed as they went through a list of some of the things she had told them about on the way there. "These two could almost tell you as much as I could at this point, they were very curious on the way here."

Ori, the youngest in the group, listened in awe as Kili told him about the x-men, while Bofur had Cricket tell him about the stuffed potatoes and hollow ended knife, his cousin Bombur listening in while shoving a wheel of cheese in his mouth. The rest of the company tuned in to the conversations as well, though they seemed more interested in the food at the time.

Bofur meanwhile introduced himself, Bifur, a dwarf with part of an axe in his head, and Bombur, while Cricket took a large swallow of ale, glad that some of them were warming up to her and being friendly. When finished, she opened her mouth to say nice to meet them, but instead as soon as she opened her mouth out came a good long burp!

She blushed as everyone looked at her yet again, this time though bursting into laughter and applause, starting to let out belches of their own. Bofur and the princes clapped the loudest, the former giving her a smile and a "Nice one lass!" before joining in himself.

She laughed as Fili and Kili started elbowing her and chugging their own ales, liquid dripping down their faces. She was starting to wonder what she had been so worried about. Once everyone was finished, she stood up, meaning to help clean up the table, but immediately had to step back as a plate flew past her face, followed by several others, as well as forks, knives and mugs. The dwarves all started singing as they caught and threw the dinnerware with ease, about blunting the knives and how Bilbo Baggins hated harming silverware, much to the displeasure of him. She walked over to stand next to Gandalf, both laughing as Bilbo walked in the kitchen once they were done to see that all the dishes were clean, with not a thing broken.

"Inconceivable." She muttered to herself, still smiling.

"What"

"Haha,nothing. You guys are forces of nature, you know that?"

A few of the dwarves puffed out their chests at the compliment, but before any of them could comment back a loud knock came from the front door, causing them all to stand still and silent, while Bilbo went to open the door.

"He is here."

Cricket looked at Gandalf, wondering who he could be talking about. Curious as to who could somber the dwarves up this fast, she peeks around him to the door so she can get a good at whoever it is. Bilbo opens the door to a dwarf not much shorter than her, but with a commanding presence. Long dark hair, well-trimmed beard, both with flecks of grey throughout it. Piercing blue eyes, Thick fur coat around his shoulders. He looks around the home before stepping in, taking in everything dismissively as if he isn't impressed with what he sees. He then does the same with Bilbo. "You must be the hobbit" he says disdainfully. He then walks around him, placing his weapon with then others before walking towards the group of dwarves, all of them bowing their heads slightly.

"Who is that?" she whispers to Gandalf.

"That would be Thorin Oakenshield...our company leader, and King of the dwarves of Erebor."

"That must be Kili and Fili's uncle.." she thinks to herself, before the word king really hits her. When it does she pulls a chair up beside Gandalf, wanting to stay out-of-the-way as everyone makes their way back to the table. She listened to the dwarves for a while, trying to take in as much as she could about the company and quest so far, laughing a bit to herself when Kili makes the comment that Gandalf must have killed several dragons before, more at his reaction than the comment itself. She also noted that Thorin seemed very cold and distant, not showing any emotion as he allowed most of the other dwarves to speak their minds. Maybe it was just her though. It had gone on for about an hour when his gaze finally fell upon her. He frowned and interrupted a speaking Gloin.

"Why is there a human among us?"

Gandalf smiled and stood, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I was wondering when you would notice. This, Thorin, is Miss Cricket, from a different world than our own. She, along with Mr. Baggins, are the last members of our little company you agreed upon."

As Cricket looked at him she finally saw a stir of emotion in his eyes; disbelief, a bit of anger and something else she couldn't place. It disappeared though, as he raised an eyebrow at her before looking back at Gandalf. "I would not have agreed so easily if I had known our last member would not only be a human, but female."

He glanced back at her and this time she met his gaze straight on, a little miffed it would matter that much to him that she was female, even though she had expected it. He had no right judging her, he didn't know anything about her or what she had been through.

Asshat.

She fumed as Thorin and Gandalf argued about whether she was going, ignoring most of the conversation as they bandied words like 'liability' and 'female' again, almost standing up and yelling when Thorin said something about her running and hiding like a coward if they were attacked. Thankfully Gandalf put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her from doing so. Guess her sister was right about punching people again. She calmed down a bit as they started talking about Bilbo this time. Apparently they had been told he was a burglar, which he did not agree with. Gandalf went on to tell them that hobbits were incredibly light on their feet, and can get in and out of places unseen. She supposed she probably too if she was some 3 feet tall. Thinking about that smiling she realized that Thorin was speaking to both her and Bilbo, something about weapons?

"Well i will have you know I have some skill at conkers" Bilbo said with a huff, getting a small laugh out of her. She regretted that laugh a moment later when Thorin's stare turned to her again. "And you? What is your weapon of choice?" She thought for a moment before answering.

"I like daggers and short swords, and im not too bad with a bow staff." It was all technically true, she did like collecting sharp objects, she had a little collection of knives and daggers at home, but couldn't really fight with them. She could, however, fight a bit with a staff. In basic they had done training with pugil sticks, which she had actually been pretty good with, and when she got out it transferred over to staff training. So yes, she wasn't completely useless. "There is always room for improvement, though." she added, smirking when she realized that wasnt what Thorin had expected to hear, a frown on his face, though Dwalin looked a bit thoughtful at her answer.

After awhile Thorin turned to Balin. "Show the contract. We will have to edit yours a bit before you look it over," he said looking at Cricket "as it was written out asumming you were a male."

"It wont take long, just a few minor adjustments."

Bilbo took the contract and started reading, half to himself and half out loud, still a bit confused about why Gandalf had went to the trouble to tell them all he was a burglar.

"A part of the treasure...retrieval of arkenstone...iminate death? Not limited to evisceration? Mutilation? Is this a joke?"

"Not at all" said Bofur. "Not only that but there is the dragon to think of. His fire can melt the skin clean off of your bones!"

Bilbo paled considerably. "I feel a bit faint..."

"Think furnace with wings!"

"I need air.."

"Flash of light, searing pain, then poof!" Bofur said flailing his arms wildly. "Nothing more than a pile of ash!"

Bilbo stood perfectly still for a moment before saying "No." and passing out cold.

"Bofur we really need to work on your tact buddy." Cricket said, looking up at the ceiling and sighing while he merely shrugged.

Thorin looked down at the hobbit being lifted to up and to the sitting room by Gandalf "How exactly is it that the burglar fainted clean away, but she heard the same thing and is still standing?"

"Just lucky I guess" she quipped, getting elbowed in the side by Kili. Thorin took in the exchange quietly. "Maybe there is some hope for you after all"

That must be high praise coming from him, he was starting to remind her of an older version of Derek Hale from Teen Wolf...maybe if she was lucky she would find a Peter Hale here as well.

She stood up from the table and moved to help Gandalf put Bilbo in a large armchair. He stirred and opened his eyes, while Cricket looked at him in amusement. "You ok? You look kind of green."

"At the moment no, im not ok. Hobbits arent supposed to go out on adventures or have wild company like this, its unnatural."

"I really sorry, im sure the last thing they want to do is tarnish your good name. Um, is there any chance you have a spare bedroom I could crash in? Its getting late, and seeing as I wont get to likely sleep in a bed for a while I would like to rest up, change clothes, that sort of thing."

He looked at her strangely. "I have plenty of spare rooms but please don't crash any, they were just made up yesterday. Just pick a room down the left hallway."

"No no, crash means..nevermind. Thank you."

As she turned towards the doorway to get her bag, Gandalf called out to her. "Dont think of Thorin too harshly child, he is not quite as cold as he seems." She inclines her head to him then grabs her bag, heading down the hallway Bilbo told her about. She opens the first door she comes to, remarking to herself as she steps in "These hobbits do like their comforts, that's for sure." There is a plush looking bed on one end of the room, a twin for her but a full-sized for a hobbit, with soft blankets and two fluffy pillows. Next to that is a short bedtable with a bowl of dried flowers giving off a pleasant scent, a thick red carpet on the ground, along with a dresser with a bowl of water on top for washing up. She takes all of this in and shuts the door, walking over to the bed and sitting down, placing her bag next to her.

It wasnt that bad here, she thought, though Thorin might end up getting on her last nerve if he kept this up. She never was good with cocky jerks, which was why she had punched that guy at the bar. Also probably the reason she was still single, it wasnt good to date someone you wanted to hit every time they talked. Alas, she was probably going to get alot of practice for her limited patience while on this sighed and began to get a few things out of her bag for the night.  
****************************************************************

"She is a Woman, Gandalf! How did you think I would react? You know how we feel about the females in our race, or any race at that, no matter how battle hardened they are. You expect me to accept it no questions asked? I already can tell that my nephews would jump to her rescue if anything happened, as well as a couple of the others for now. She would just get in the way." Thorin was quite angry that Gandalf had sprung this on him, even though he knew most likely he had no idea until tonight, it was just irritating.

"You say that like it is a bad thing Thorin, would you want any member of your company to do that for one another? Besides, it just means they are good people, you should be proud of them, not chastise for it. And she isn't a dwarf, though I do believe she is hardier than you think. And you have already agreed, remember? While she may be a woman, she is also vital to the quests success, as I said. Besides, you never know when having a female along might come in handy. Didnt she also say she had a bit of fighting skill as well? She will hardly be helpless, and will keep us a well-rounded group."

Thorin glared at his reasoning but said nothing, knowing that the wizard could be just as stubborn as he could, and that they needed him. Balin took that moment to enter the room. "I have made most of the changes to the lasses contract, I just need to know if she will have a certain job in the company."

"Put her down as Bombur's assistant" said Thorin, finally looking away from Gandalf, "And have her doing any small chores around the camp that need to be done. That should keep her out of trouble, hopefully."

"Can do. If I might ask, are you sure she needs to come along? Young girl like that, it will most certainly be dangerous..."

"Gandalf has assured me that we need her, for what im not sure. We just to put our faith in the wizard that he knows what he is doing. I promised him the burglar and her both would have a place in the company, and I keep my promises. But, as I told the wizard as well" he says glancing over "I have the final say in how long she stays if she puts anyone in danger or hinders the quest."

Balin merely nods his understanding and heads back to finish the contract.

"As well," Thorin continues to the grey wizard "I do not want her to expect someone to come to her rescue for every little thing, though I know some will anyway. I know how some females can be, expecting a man to help them at every turn, though I also know some are quite the opposite. I hope for her sake she is the latter." Gandalf merely nods his agreement, puffing on his pipe, certain that she was. While talking to the girl earlier he found himself quite surprised and pleased, she had spirit, was not some closeted child, and had hidden strengths that he was sure she knew nothing about. He was convinced, no matter what her role, she would make a fine addition to the company. He stayed silent, musing on this, as the rest of the dwarves settled into the sitting room as well,most bringing out pipes as well. After a while a silence, a low humming began...  
**************************************************

Cricket had washed up a bit, taking off her jacket, socks and shoes, and relaxed on the bed. She had also taken the chance to take inventory of her bag and charge her phone a bit with the hand pump, intending to listen to some of her music when she heard the singing, deep and low, coming from the direction of the sitting room. Slowly she leaves the room and heads toward the sound. She stops right outside the room and looks in, mesmerized by the sound and sight of all the dwarves standing together, looking so solemn as they sang the haunting tune. Not wanting to disturb them she leans silently against the doorway to keep listening. When they finish they all begin to sit back down but Balin, however, sees her standing there and walks over, a small smile on his face.

"I have your contract ready, lass, if you are ready to go over it and sign."

"What? Oh, sure, let's go ahead. Im ready."

She follows him to a well-lit area of the room and sits down across from him at a small desk, taking the contract from him and reading over it, making sure not to miss anything. "You have lovely handwriting Balin" She comments.

"Thank you lass" he says inclining his head to her.

"Helping Bombur with the cooking huh? I think I can manage that, Kili and Fili both think we will get along swimmingly. Death, pain, dragon, yea yea yea. Wait, I get a portion of the treasure?" She gasps at that.

"Well of course lass, everyone in the company does. Why wouldn't you as well?"

"I don't know, just didn't think about that I guess. I don't even know if I will be able to take it with me when I go home, that is if I get home..."She pauses, looking sad as she thinks of home.

Balin, noticing the look on her face, pats her on the hand trying to comfort her. "We will take care of that when it happens lass. You don't have to go, you know that right? No one is forcing you to accompany us, and if you are uncomfortable about it no one will think less of you if you decline..."

"It's not that" she says sadly "I just keep going through the fact I don't know how or if I am going to be able to get home, and it makes me sad for a bit, but I will be ok. Gandalf thinks we may meet someone on the quest who may be able to help, but im not a count your chicken before they hatch sort of girl. As to the quest, of course im nervous, who wouldn't be? But its an excited sort of nervous. And if there is even a chance I can help you succeed, it will be worth it to go. That, and the fact that if someone died and I could have stopped it, but decided not to go, my conscience couldn't take it. So yes, im going. To try to help the both of us, im going."

Balin looks at her as she says all this, noticing the determination in her eyes, much like the young princes, but less brash and impulsive. When she finishes there is a large smile on his face. "Child, you have a large heart, and more courage than I originally thought when I saw you. If you are certain sign on the bottem...Gandalf is right, you may be what this company needs after all."

Signing the contract she hands it back to him, who rolls it up. "Thank you, I will take this to Thorin."

She gets up and starts to leave the room then stops, a thoughtful look on her face. "Is Dwalin still in there?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"I just need to ask him something."

"I will ask him to come in here if you like."

"That would be great, thank you."

Bowing slightly he heads out of the room and back to Thorin, stopping for a moment at his brother. "The lass has a question for you"

"What about?"

"She didn't say, I told her i would pass on the message for her though." With that he heads to Thorin, handing him the contract. Dwalin lifts an eyebrow and walks to the other room, wondering what she could possibly want to ask him. He sees her standing there, her back to him, admiring a painting of Middle-Earth on the wall, hands clasped behind her back. "How can such a little thing help us" he asks himself silently. Stalking over to her he glares at her back for a moment before clearing his throat. She starts and turns around, embarrassed to be caught unawares.

"Balin said you had a question for me?"

She looks at him for a minute, recomposing herself and taking in his intricate head tattoos before answering. "Yes, yes I did, sorry. You taught Kili and Fili to fight, right? They were telling me about it."

"Yes, from the time they were dwarflings. Why?" he asked, curious as to where this was going.

"I was wondering, if we got the chance and it wasnt too much trouble..could you maybe train me a bit? I know I said I could use a staff a bit, but I would like to get better, with that and with swords and knives if I can. There is always room for improvement in my book, and I have no idea if what I already know will be enough for here. That, and I don't want to be any more of a nuisance than I already am to some...I just..want to know I can defend myself if I need to."

He stares at for a bit, his mouth gaping open, shocked she would ask this. This little female wants training? While he does see the practicality of it, he isn't sure she can keep up. "I take it you signed the contract then?"

She nods.

"Are you sure this is something you would want to do? I wont go easy on you, even with you being a girl. Its hard work, and I don't train slackers, you can ask the boys about that."

She smiles at the gruff warrior dwarf. "I wouldn't have it any other way, it kinda tough to get better at something if you dont work hard at it. Besides, anything worth doing is worth doing well, right? So what do you say? Pretty please? They both said you were a great teacher."

He contemplates smacking the boys as she says this, figuring he can always stop the training if he feels she isn't giving it all she's got. She did sound sincere, even though he wasnt sure she could handle full on dwarven training. She was right though, it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.

"Fine." he says finally "I will..attempt to train you in our free time. But if i decide we need to stop, we stop, got it? I know how fragile you humans can be. I will probably have you spar with Kili and Fili a bit as well."

Grinning from ear to ear she thanks him excitedly, then to his bafflement runs out of the room, only to appear later with a long hammer he had seen in the hallway. She stands in front and hands it to him. "Here."

"Whats this for?"

"A thank you for agreeing to train me. It came along when I was transported here, but I think it would get better use in your hands, you being a trained warrior and all." With that, she walks out of the room again, stopping a moment to talk to Kili, most likely telling him the good news, before walking towards the bedrooms for the night.

Dwalin shakes his head at her retreating form and heads back to the sitting room, still holding the hammer. Thorin, just finishing up a conversation with Balin, looks over to him as he enters, then looks at the weapon in his hands. "What did the girl ask you?"

"To train her a bit in our spare time, so she wouldn't be so much of a burden. Apparently your nephews recommended me."

Thorin lifts an eyebrow at that, a bit surprised. "And the hammer?"

"She says it's a thank you for me agreeing to do it. I figure it cant hurt anything, may toughen her up a bit. She knows it will be hard work."

Thorin says nothing, but nods his head in agreement. Dwalin then sits down and actually takes a good look at his new weapon. It was 2 feet shorter than him, with a good grip all the way along the handle. Heavy top, but not too heavy, with a smooth blunt end on one side and an extremely sharp point on the other, the entire thing a polished black. It was actually very well made, considering it came from another world. As he finishes examining the hammer, actually quite please with it, he hopes that he can actually teach the girl a couple of things. Only time would tell though.

"Oh Kili, Fili!, We need to have a talk boys!"

Everyone slept deeply that night, knowing it would be awhile before they slept in a home, much less a bed, again.

_**Yea, i got bored at work, so this chater ended up a bit longer lol. Next time, they start off! Oh and reviews please!**_


	4. Ponies

Cricket woke up at the crack of dawn, an unfortunate habit picked up from a mix of basic training, and having a four-month old in the apartment that liked to wake up his mommy early every morning. She automatically attempted to stretch, which only resulted her slamming her limbs into the top of the bed, reminding her painfully she was in a much smaller bed than her own queen size at home. Groaning in pain, she sits up and glares at the offending headboard, massaging her hands and letting her brain finish waking up. After about 5 minutes of this she hops off the bed, grabbing a washcloth out of her bag to clean up the best she can, stripping down quickly and wiping everything down, finishing up with a wet wipe, then dunking her hair quickly in the bowl of water, saving a bit to the side for brushing her teeth. She pulls her clothes back on after that, switching out her peasant blouse for the extra shirt in her bag, which to her delight was her black and purple batman baseball shirt, and brushes her hair, once more pulling it back into a ponytail, but this time turning the last loop over into a messy bun. She now officially felt a lot more human.

She had no idea what time the company would be leaving, much less waking up, so she figured there was nothing wrong with getting an early start to the day. She heads out of the room, towards the kitchen to try to scrounge up something to eat, not expecting to see anyone else awake. That meant she was very surprised when she walked in the sitting room and saw Bifur, Bofur and Bombur all awake, drinking what smelled blessedly like coffee.

"Good morning lass!" Bofur and Bombur say, waving cheerily at her.

"Baknd ghelekh." said Bifur doing the same.

"Good morning everyone. Um, I don't suppose he said good morning as well?"

Bofur laughed. "Aye he did lass. He has'na been able to speak the plain tongue since he was hit with the axe still in his head, all he can speak is Khuzdul, our language. Luckily one of us is always with him to translate."

"Ah ok then. Ba..Baknd ghelekh to you as well." She said, attempting to pronounce it, only mangling a bit. Bifur got a big smile on his face and laughed at her attempt, saying something rapid fire to Bofur before returning to his coffee.

"He says good try, just try not to let Thorin catch you saying it in our tongue, its supposed to be our secret language. Though I suppose if he does, we can just say you picked it up along the way, can't hurt anything"

"Not at all. Now, is that coffee I smell? I could kill for a cup."

"That it is, only way to properly wake in the morning. Help yourself to a cup, no killing required."

"You're amazing, thank you so much." She inhales the dark brew, sipping with a contented sigh at the strongly made cup of coffee, after adding cream and sugar. Smiling relaxes back into the chair. "Do you wake up this early every morning, or is it just in anticipation of the journey?"

"Well, a bit of both really. Bombur as a cook is used to it, as he has to get stuff ready before everyone wakes up most of the time, especially if he is making bread. While I usually wake early as well, today I am going to go check and make sure all the ponies are ready before we leave. Fortunately it means I get my cup before the rest of the lads wake up and ruin the quiet. What about you lass?"

"I'm used to waking to the sounds of a crying baby every morning, the habit tends to stick after a while. That, and I had no idea what time we were leaving today, so it seemed like a good idea to just go ahead and wake up."

"You have a babe back home then?"

"Yes. Well, I mean no, not actually me, its my sister's son, she lives with me."

"Ah alright then. I suppose it would be a lot harder on you if you actually had a babe back home."

She nodded silently and continued drinking her coffee, letting the life-giving drink work its magic on her. When she finished she set the cup down and turned to Bofur, who had finished his as well and was whittling on a piece of wood. Bombur was munching on a loaf of bread, Bifur pouring another cup, all of them just sitting silently for a minute.

"Hey Bofur?"

"Yes lass? What is it?"

"Could I go with you to check on the ponies? I'm pretty much awake and ready to go, and don't really feel like sitting still, waiting for everyone else to wake up."

"If you would like to, of course, I can certainly understand being a wee bit antsy, especially right before a journey like this."

"Thanks, I could use a good morning leg stretch."

"We will leave when you are ready then, meet you at the front."

"Allright." She stood up and walked back to her room to pull on her socks, shoes and jacket, grabbing a protein out of her bag to munch on as she heads back out the door again, seeing Bofur waiting for her.

"Are you ready?"

"Yep, lead the way."

As they head outside and start walking, Cricket pulls out the protein bar and breaks it in half, offering part of it to Bofur. He takes it, looking at it strangely.

"Whats this?"

"Its called a protein bar. It's a type of food people bring with them when they go camping or traveling, its lasts for quite a while, fills you up and gives you energy. I had about ten in my bag just in case."

He sniffs it curiously, then takes a small bite. As he slowly chews his face takes on a surprised look, and he takes another larger bite. "Say, its sweet! And not bad at that, whats in it?"

"I'm not sure everything that's in it, but the flavor is caramel cookie crunch. It has granola and caramel in it for sure, as well as dark chocolate, but other than that im not sure. I have like 5 different flavors with me."

He nods and they both finish off their respective halves. As they walk along the path something occurs to her, and she mentally facepalms. She looks over at Bofur "Sooo this may not be the best time to mention it..but I can't ride. Anything. I always wanted to learn but never got the chance. Pretty sure that's going to be an issue."

He sighs, shaking his head at her with a small smile. "It does complicate things a bit lass, but we will figure it out. Besides, as we already bought the ponies we will likely be one short as it is. You can always ride with me or one of the other lads, and we can teach you as we go."

"Thank you yet again. Haha, I just realized how much I will be learning while im here. Fighting, horse riding, a new language...whats next?"

"Dragon slaying?" he asks with a cheeky grin.

"Ha, no thank you, pretty sure i'm going to leave that to you guys. Dragon riding though, that has a nice ring to it. I would love to be able to fly."

"Good luck with that, we can't help you much there."

"No, of course not, just a fun dream, that's all."

"Nothing wrong with dreaming, lass. It's what keeps most of us going. Thorin and the rest of the company, for example, dream of reclaiming Erebor, having a place to call home again. Fili, Kili and Ori have never even seen it"

"Is that your dream as well?"

"While it is the main dream...there is another for me, I admit. Someday, if Dale is ever rebuilt, Bifur and I want to have a toy-shop there.

"A toy shop?"

"Aye, there's nothing like the look on a wee one's face when they get excited about being given a toy that you made...warms the heart it does."

He goes silent as they round a corner and reach their destination, the ponies already being prepared to leave for when they get back. While Bofur talks to the owner, Cricket sits on a bale of hay outside the stables, enjoying the sunlight, along with the peace and quiet, almost falling asleep again. She comes back to being alert when Bofur walks out, gesturing for her to follow him back. She stands and stretches up on her tippy toes, a smile on her face as she follows him back to the house, continuing their conversation.

"Thats really a sweet dream, you must like kids a lot."

"That I do lass." Bombur has five back home, and I was always over, making them toys and things"

"None of your own then?"

"Not yet, but hopefully someday. Why, are ya offering to help?" He smiles over at her mischievously, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Haha, very funny. And what, stop you from finding a nice dwarf girl someday? Perish the thought! I would hardly stack up.."

"Dont cut yourself short lass..pretty thing like you, surprised you don't have a man and babe already."

She smiles sadly at him, then looks straight ahead "Just trying to wait for the right one I guess. It's hard to find, but eventually worth the wait. And I have been through way too much, seen too much, to settle..." She cuts off, not trusting herself to finish the sentence and walks quietly beside him.

He glances sharply at her, wondering what she could have been put through to hurt as much she must, he could hear it in her voice. He didn't push it though, knowing if she trusted him she would tell in time. All he says is a soft "That it is.".

The rest of the trip is made in silence. When they make it back to the house, the rest of the company has already woken up and started getting their stuff together and ready to go, excited to start the journey. Bofur thanks her for accompanying him, then pulls Kili and Fili aside to talk to them. Cricket grabs a piece of bacon from someones plate and heads back to her bedroom to get her stuff. Finishing off the bacon she grabs a piece of gum and pops it in her mouth, slathers on some lipchap, pulls on her bag and heads out just in time, as everyone has started heading out the door.

Cricket walks up beside Kili and whispers to him "Where's Bilbo" Isnt he coming as well?"

"So far no sight of him, plus he hasn't even signed his contract yet. We actually have bets going on whether or not he will show up."

"Too bad I don't have any money or I would definitely join in."

"I will lend you a couple of coins if I win, you never know when you might need some." he says, smiling at her.

"You're a lifesaver."

"I know. By the way, Bofur talked to a couple of us, and we decided you can take turns riding with us on the ponies as you can't ride."

"And by us you mean..."

"Well, just Bofur, Bifur, Fili and I right now, but that should be enough. But you should want to ride with us, we are the fun ones, the rest are just sticks in the mud!"

She laughs and rolls her eyes at him as he and Fili get into an argument about who she will ride with first. As they all walk back to the stable, most of the dwarves are munching on some kind of food pilfered from Bilbo's house or keeping up light banter. Thorin walks beside Balin, occasionally glancing over at his nephews arguing. He catches her eye once, an expression on his face she couldn't place, before looking back to Balin and saying something quietly to him.

Plotting perhaps? She had to say he confused her a bit, seeming upset about her going, but not trying in the least to talk her out of it. Hell, at least Balin asked if she actually wanted to go, instead of assuming she was. Not only that but so she hadn't seen hardly any emotions from him, or reactions, other than when Gandalf revealed her as the last member of the company.

Maybe he just had a hell of a poker face. As a king she figured it would come in handy. For now she figured as long as he didn't piss her off she would stay off of his bad side, if it was possible.

When they made it to the stables, all the dwarves picked a pony, waiting for Thorin to pick first before doing so. Apparently Fili had won the argument about who she would be riding with. She was about to try to climb on when she heard a yelling in the distance.

"Wait! Wait for me!" Bilbo came running around the corner, huffing and puffing, a bag nearly as large as he was on his back. He walks up to Balin, breathing deeply, and hands him the contract. "I signed it."

Balin smiles at him and looks at the contract. "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakensheild."

Everyone laughs as Thorin looks over at him. "Give him a pony."

"No, no no, that wont be nessacary...whoa!" He is picked up and put on top of the extremely small pack pony that was with them, the one that if Cricket had tried to ride her feet would have dragged the ground. She laughs, then walks over to Fili already on his pony. He holds out a hand and she clumsily climbs up behind him. She makes it up, him asking if she was settled. Thorin looks over to them, one eyebrow raised but says nothing.

"Is he upset im riding with you?" she asks.

"No" says Fili. "We explained to him that you couldn't ride, and that even if you could we didn't have enough ponies. That and Bilbo's would be way too small for you. So he really couldn't do much arguing."

"Yea" said Kili pulling up beside them. "Besides, you aren't hurting anyone, and it was our choice. So there is no stopping us! " he smiles brightly at her as she laughs at him. "I guess thats true."

"Are you ready?" asks Fili "Better hold on"

"Allright" she says, wrapping her arms around his waist. As they begin riding, the dwarves begin throwing small bags of coins to one another. "Whats that?" asked Bilbo.

"They took bets on whether or not you would show." said Gandalf

"And what did you bet?"

Gandalf caught a bag in mid-air."My dear boy I never doubted you for a minute."

Cricket watched as Kili caught a bag and grinned. "Congratulations on winning your bet."

She heard a sneeze ahead of hear, then Bilbo exclaiming "Wait wait, stop! We have to turn around."

"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked.

"I forgot my handkerchief."

"Here" Bofur said, ripping off part of his shirt and throwing it at Bilbo. "Use this!"

They all laugh as Thorin yells "Move on."

"Poor Bilbo" Cricket laughs as he looks at the ripped material in horror. "He has a lot to get used to if he is going to make it on this little trip."

Fili agrees laughing, and they ride on down the path, starting the journey.

_**I hope my Khuzdul was correct, i am trying to research it more to put in, but i am finding differing ways of saying it all. As always, please review, and let me know what you think.**_


	5. Learning

_**I Own a gold car and a House Stark Pillow. Not the Hobbit.**_

Cricket hurt. She hurt everywhere.

After riding for 12 hours straight, only stopping twice for a meal and to empty bladders, along with switching with the boys halfway through. They finally stopped for the night on the top of a rocky alcove where they could see all around them, and sleep without someone sneaking up on them.

Obviously not used to riding any sort of animal that long, or at all for that matter, as soon as she slid off the pony her legs betrayed her and turned to aching jelly. Bofur, thank goodness, realized what it would be like for her when she got down and helped her back to her feet and to a large rock to sit on while they set up camp. She stuck out her tongue at Fili and Kili, smirking at her while they tied up the ponies.

After the fire was set up, Bombur came over, knife and potatoes in hand. "Can you peel and cut these up for stew? I will get the rest of the chopping ready and start putting things into the pot."

"Sure, sounds easy."

"It will give you a good reason to stay seated for a while, as well" he said smiling good-naturedly at her, and went over to start pulling stuff out of his pack.

Grateful for the dwarfs way of thinking, she began to peel the potatoes, letting her mind drift off to the events that had passed that day, other than the riding. A few of the dwarves had gone out of their way to converse with her a bit, most notably the brothers Ri and Balin. Ori wanted to know more about her for the book he was always writing in, and she was able to answer most of his questions happily. Dori was very interested in the different teas from her world, as well as Balin, and she promised to talk to them later about it as she actually had in interest in teas, as Ori had almost endless questions and they had a hard time getting in questions themselves. Nori was interested in how she made a living, strangely enough, and she told him about one of the ones she had at the moment.

The best part of the day, though, came from when Bofur and Bifur were riding beside her and Fili. Cricket had noticed that Bifur used a type of sign language most of the time, and figured that if she couldn't learn to talk to him one way, maybe she could another. So, after whispering her request in Fili's ear, he smiled broadly at her and quickly showed her the requested sign before riding up beside Bifur. He looked over at them from the conversation he was having with Bofur, curious.

Cricket smiled nervously and attempted the sign the for hello she had requested for Fili to show her before riding up. She looked at him as she finished, and was happy to see a shocked, yet pleased look on his face. Before she could say anything he began signing furiously to her, Bofur just laughing as she tried to stop him.

"Whoa whoa hold on! All I know is that one sign right now, and im honestly hoping I said hello, and not anything inappropriate seeing as I asked Fili to teach it to me."

"You did lass. Say hello that is." said Bofur "He was asking when you learned Iglishmek."

"Well, I don't at the moment, but was wondering if you could teach it to me? I thought it might be nice being able to talk to Bifur as well as I can the rest of you, and since I can't learn Khuzdul..."

Bofur looked over to Bifur, who grinned and nodded at her, agreeing to help teach her. The next four hours flew by, filled with the learning of signs and what they meant. She noticed Thorin looking over a couple of times, not really disapprovingly, but curiously impassive at their lessons. Honestly she didn't care if he disapproved or not. She wanted to learn, and the axe riddled dwarf and his cousin were all too happy to teach her.

By the time they stopped for the day her head was filled to the brim, and they agreed to practice a bit every day. Bifur looked extremely pleased with himself, and Cricket was sure she had made another couple of good friends.

Dwalin snapped her out of her daydream, tapping her lightly on the shoulder, causing her to almost drop her potato. She looked up at him, a bit embarrassed at being caught not paying attention. "Sorry Master Dwalin, did you need something?"

"Aye. We'll be starting your training tonight. Once you are done here meet me next to the flat area with the ponies. Bring any weapons you have with you." With that he stomped off towards his brother.

She closes her eyes and sighs, looking up at the sky, knowing she can't complain as she asked him to train her, but dreading it all the same due to her already aching muscles. She finishes up the potatoes, throwing the peels into the fire and the chopped up bits into the stew pot, then heads towards her bag, already not relishing what was to come.

She takes off her jacket and jewelry when she gets to it, putting them beside the bag, and secures her hair out of her face. She then grabs the assorted weapons from her bag and heads towards the ponies, waving a knife at the grinning Kili and Fili as she walks past.

When she gets to Dwalin he nods at her, and she sets the weapons at his feet for inspection. He grunts, bending down to look them over before choosing the two large knives from the lot.

"We will start you off with these, you don't have as much muscle as us dwarves, and speed will be more your weapon in a battle. We can practice with a staff later when you are more used to these, and we can get ahold of one."

"Allright, sounds good" she said, putting the others aside and taking the knives from him. "What first?"

"First we stretch, loosen our muscles up from all the riding. Then I will test your skills so far to see what I am working with, and go from there."

She nodded and followed him to the center of the area, stretching a bit on her own, then trying to copy a couple of his. they did this for about ten minutes before he seemed satisfied, and turned around to face her, taking a defensive stance. "Allright lass, lets see what you got."

The next two hours beat out all 12 hours of the horse riding. He kicked her ass, and by the time they were don't she was covered with sweat and completely out of breath. She got one, maybe two lucky strikes in, while he just kept knocking her ass to the ground, though she was pretty sure one of those strikes were from tripping over her own feet.

She lay on the ground for a moment, letting her heart rate calm back down, before sitting up to a completely fine Dwalin. He held out a hand and helped her up, actually chuckling a bit as she groaned in pain.

"Well, you aren't the worst I have ever seen, I will give you that. Not many get a strike on me starting out. Enough training, you may actually be as good as Fili with his knives someday. You still have a ways to go, of course, but luckily we have no bad habits already to break you of."

"Um..thanks? Though im pretty sure one of those lucky shots was me tripping and just happening to get you when I did."

"Take the compliment lass," he said, his gruff demeanor actually softening a bit."Either way you got a shot in. I was sure you were going to ask me to stop halfway through, tell me it was too hard. I'm not surprised easily, but you managed to do it."

"I told you, im a firm believer that anything worth doing is worth doing well. A little hard work never scared me. Tired me out, made me not want to move the next several days after maybe, but not scared."

"And thank Mahal for that. Any woman willing to learn to protect herself is a good sort in my book, and one worth knowing. By the way, what you are doing with Bifur, learning Iglishmek? It's a good thing. Ever since he took that axe to the head, he has felt a bit left out, only being able to talk with other dwarves, having to have a translator whenever he is around other races. You learning to talk with him, it will help him out quite a bit."

She looked over at him, surprised to hear this coming from the tall warrior dwarf. "Well, I figured since im not allowed to learn Khuzdul, learning the signs would be the next best thing. Not that im not bound to learn a couple of words of it along the way, being with almost an all dwarfen company, but still."

"Technically Iglishmek is supposed to be for us as well, but no one here will really care considering. Thorin and Gloin might huff and puff a bit, but both, and I say this with the utmost respect for both of them, especially Thorin, have sticks up their arses half the time and they can get over it."

Cricket gaped at him when he said that and barely restrained the giggle that tried to escape, the tattooed dwarf suprising her again. They walk back slowly to the camp and separate, Dwalin to where his brother and Thorin are, Cricket to her bag. She pulls out a wet wipe and wipes herself down the best she can, hoping she can get a both soon,, before pocketing her phone and headphones and heading over to plop down next to Kili.

"How was your first day of training? Any new bruises?" he asked with a grin on his face as Fili handed her a bowl of stew. She accepts it gratefully, sipping on it a bit before answering." Thanks Fili. I have bruises on top of bruises right now. He knocked me on my ass so many times im surprised it's not broken."

"Yea, that tends to happen with him. He forgets not everyone is as hardy as a dwarf at times, and really, most dwarves aren't even as strong as him."

"Yea, I only managed to get a couple of lucky shots in, though he says with practice I could get pretty good."

They both gape at her a bit."Thats high praise from him, believe me" said Fili. "Not even I got a hit in my first training."

"But weren't you a kid when you started? It's probably not the same thing."

"I guess, either way thats a good way to start. Want some more stew?"

She looks down at her bowl, not realizing it was already empty." Oh, yea sure, thanks. I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was."

"No problem, training is hungry work."

"No kidding."

"I bet Dwalin would let us help train you." said Kili thoughtfully "We are closer to your size, and less likely to knock you out!"

"He didn't knock me out! Knock me on my ass, yes, but not out!"

"Just wait, it'll happen. the training doesn't count until he does at least once!"

She knocked him over the head lightly with her phone and finished off her stew as he yelped.

"Your training must really count then, Fee, seeing as he knocked you out seven times!"

"He did no...well maybe he did. But at least I didn't knock myself out trying to swing an axe the first time!"

"No, you just stabbed yourself while showing off in front of Amad and uncle Thorin!"

"And you were caught pouring honey in uncles boots!"

"I was 15! And you got your beard caught in the oven door while sneaking cookies and burnt part of it off!"

"Scardy Dwarf!"

"Nug Humper!"

It went on like that for a bit, before eventually turning into the two scuffling around next to her. She rolled her eyes and put the bowl up, before sitting back down and taking out her phone, turning it on. Bofur noticed the glowing device in her hand and walked over to sit next to her, curious about another item from her world.

"Whats that you have lass?"

She glances over and smiles. "This is a cell phone. Back home we use it to talk to other people over long distances, though now all its good for is pictures, music and games."

"That little thing? Is it magic?"

"No no, not at all." she said laughing "Just bits of metal and plastic and other assorted things, put together the right way and powered by another device in my bag."

At his puzzled look she shakes her head and smiles "Here, let me show you."

She pulls up her photo gallery, feeling the fighting stop beside her stop as they get in closer to look as well. Seeing a good chance to actually show a bit of her world, she pulls up pictures of her friends, family, her apartment, food she had cooked and cakes she had baked. after a while she had a small crowd around her, all wanting a look at the pictures of her home. Thorin, surprise surprise, stayed off to the side smoking a pipe.

"Who is that?" asked Ori, pointing to a picture of a happy looking blond 3-year-old, wet hair spiked up and a huge cheesy grin on his face as he struck a pose for the camera.

"Thats my nephew. she said, looking wistfully at the picture."He lives in another state with my mom and stepdad. I think I miss him more than anyone. Here, let me show you a video."

She pulls up a video she took of him at his birthday, blowing out the candles on his cookie monster brownie cake. He also talked to the camera quite a bit with his friend Alex, and got caught squeezing leftover blue frosting into his mouth, getting his whole face covered in blue.

Everyone was amazed at what the little device could do, and laughed at the sight of the small boy smearing frosting everywhere.

"He's a cute one." said Bofur smiling at her "You said he lived with your mother, does that mean something happened to his?"

She froze at his question, closing her eyes and pausing before answering. This was always a touchy subject with her, one that she didn't like talking about much because of people's reactions to it, along with the bad memories it brought up. He didn't know though, he was simply curious, and she felt he deserved an answer.

"She..abandoned him. Or, not really abandoned him I guess, just dropped him off when he was 4 months old off and never came back for him. Poor mom didn't see it coming, and didn't know what to do, so I tried to help them the best I could, what with both of them working full-time jobs."

Most of the dwarves were horrified at her answer, and were very vocal about it.

"What kind of person.."

"Did the father not say anything?"

"How could you do that to your own child?"

"There's no excuse!"

"We aren't exactly sure who the father is." she said, trying to calm them down a bit. "She was young and, well, not very careful when it came to that sort of thing. Free spirit, you might say, or whatever else floats your boat. Anyway, when it came back to bite her in the ass, the baby got sick, and she decided she wasnt ready to take care of a child, regardless of the fact thats where her actions landed her. So one day she got all of his stuff together and dropped it and him at out moms house, leaving him there. Every once in a while she would come to visit, but really only when she had a new boyfriend or wanted something. He is 4 years old now."

Balin patted her leg sadly."You have to excuse us if we reacted a bit strongly lass, but children are a precious thing among our people, seeing as there are so few female dwarves. so you can understand us not understanding a mother not wanting to care for her child."

"She smiled sadly at the older dwarf."Its fine. It ended up being for the best anyway. He considers them his parents, and they love him like a son. The only real issue was that they had to be parents again instead of grandparents, and lost a lot of free time you are supposed to have when your children grow up. I ended up getting two part-times jobs to work so I could watch him 5 days a week while they were at work, along with watching him at night every once in a while so they could have some alone time."

Most of the dwarves looked at her with a newfound respect at that. "It was kind of you to help out like that lass, though it sounds like it caused a lot of extra work for you."

She shrugged. "It was worth it for them not to be overwhelmed, and I got my bills paid. Plus I love the little guy like my own, and got to be there for all his firsts. That alone made it worth the while for me."

"That is it" said Gloin. "My wee Gimli, when he smiles at me all my troubles melt away."

"Same here." Bombur added. "My little ones make life worth living."

"Im glad you understand then" she said smiling."He may not be mine, but I would protect him like he was all the same."

As all the dwarves move back to their original places around the fire, Balin stops and lays a hand on her shoulder."You will be a fierce mother someday." he says smiling, and walks over to a curious looking Thorin, leaving a surprised look on her face that turns to sadness.

This time both Bofur and Fili see the look on her face and glance at each other. Bofur, remembering their earlier conversation that day, decides to get her mind off things, and not let her thoughts bring her down.

"So lass," he said to her "you said this thing is good for music as well?"

"What? Oh yea, hold on."

As she fiddles with her phone a howl pierces the night. Bilbo looks up startled from where he was sneaking an apple to one of the ponies, as she does the same.

"What was that?" he asked.

Kili got a serious look on his face before answering. "Orcs."

"Orcs?" he said as he walked quickly over to the rest of the group.

"Throut cutters" said Fili. "There will be dozens of them out there, the low lands are crawling with them."

Cricket looks over to him as he takes a puff on his pipe, wondering if they are being serious or just messing with the poor hobbit.

"They strike in the wee small hours of the night while you sleep, quick and quiet no screams, just lots of blood." Kili whispered.

Bilbo looked off towards the sounds again, Cricket beginning to get worried when she saw the smirks on their faces. She glared and smacked each of them on the back of the head before Thorin stepped in.

"You think thats funny?" he asked as Bilbo turned around towards him. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

Kili looked upset as his face fell "We didn't mean anything by it."

"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world." With that he stalked off, everyone staring in silence after him.

"Dont mind him laddie" said Balin breaking the silence. "He has more reason than most to hate the orcs."

As he began to tell Bilbo of the great battle against the orcs, Cricket turned to a sad Kili. She sighed and looked over to Bofur, promising to show him another night, then squeezed between the brothers. "You ok?"

"Yea, I guess. We were just joking around, but he takes everything so seriously." he said dejectedly.

"Yea, I have kind of noticed that. It's not really orcs, is it?"

"No, just some animal enjoying the night."

"Well thats a good thing. Wanna see something interesting?" she hold up the ear buds and hands each prince one. "Put this in an ear. I am going to plug it into my phone, and don't let it freak you out."

Looking at her puzzled they do so. She plus the earphones in and puts it on her music, choosing the Dropkick Murphy's and choosing a song, laughing at the looks on their faces when the music comes on. They almost spring from their seats,not expecting the music, but after a bit calm down and start smiling, enjoying the fast beat of the music. When the song is over she takes the headphones back from them, glad she could cheer them up.

"Thats music where you are from?" asked Kili excitedly.

"It's so loud!" said Fili.

"Do you have anymore?"

"I do, and I promise you can listen to more tomorrow. Right now, im exhausted, and we all need a good nights sleep. I promise whoever I ride with tomorrow can listen to more music with me, and yes I will switch out."

Excited at the prospect they agree, and get their bedrolls out for the night. Luckily Bilbo had an extra at the house so Cricket had one too. She was going to walk far to the side of the fire to go to sleep, but before she could Fili grabbed it from her and pulled it between where the two of them were sleeping.

"What are you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we found you, so we are responsible for your safety! And it will be easier to protect you if you are close to us."

"Yea!" said Kili grinning. "Plus we can all keep each other warm, and you wont have to sleep next to Bifur and his moths. Or Bombur and his snoring. Or Oin and his sleep wheezing. Or.."

"Allright allright I get it, whatever you say." she said, laying down between the two. "As long as I don't wake up with a foot in my face, it works for me."

They both grin and they all settle in for the night, Dwalin keeping the first watch as everyone drifts off to sleep, smiling an hour later at the sight of the princes cuddled up close to Cricket, both with an arm around her, as if to keep her safe from harm in their sleep. They never had too many friends growing up, so he was glad to see they had become such fast friends with the girl.

Apparently dwarves are big on cuddling, she would learn when she woke up to a warm body on either side of her, Fili up against her back with a hand on top of her arm, Kili on his back with an arm thrown across her waist. This time though, she smiled and went back to sleep.

_**Sorry for feels, child abandonment strikes a chord with me, and whats a good story without agnst and feels. And Dwarf cuddles. Please reveiew.**_


	6. Flirting?

The next couple of weeks passed by fairly quick seeing how busy Cricket was staying, days and nights full of learning, training and riding. As well, all the dwarves were warming up to her, as well as Gandalf and Bilbo. The only one who really didn't show that much change was Thorin, and she was pretty sure that had a lot to do with the way she woke up that first morning. Not even her fault really, but the fault of the two stubborn, youthful, rambunctious princes who decided they were going to be her protectors.

Thorin had done the last watch that night, and had sat on a rock close to the rest of the group when she began to stir, again early as was her habit. She didn't notice him at first though.

No, the first thing she noticed was poor goofy Kili, right next to her the way she was facing(she was sleeping on her side), on his back, mouth open, arms and legs spread out haphazardly, one arm above her head, one leg thrown all the way over her. She smiled at the sight, thinking how carefree he looked while sleeping, much like when he was awake.

That wasn't the part she thought Thorin probably didn't approve of though, or at least not the main reason.

"No, that would be the second thing she noticed. Cricket noticed she was very comfortably warm for this time of the morning, especially with the blanket she had over her. She realizes why when, while adjusting her body a bit, she feels something tighten around her waist, drawing her closer in to a hard presence behind her. Face going red she lifts the blanket a bit to spy a strong arm around her waist, holding her in place. She glances back slowly to see Fili, still fast asleep, keeping her pressed tightly against himself. It wouldn't be that bad, was even quite enjoyable, if she hadn't felt something else waking up and pressing into her back...

She silently eeps, blushing furiously, and moves his arm the best she can, managing to do so just enough to move out from under it, standing up quickly and sighing deeply before stretching as far as she can. She turns around to get to her bag and sees Thorin sitting there, face impassive but for a raised eyebrow at the scene before him.

She jumps and looks back down at the sleeping brothers, holding her hands up in surrender. "Don't look at me, I just woke up like that, your nephews are the ones who are voracious cuddlers, I just got caught in the middle. Plus they pretty much dragged my bedroll between theirs. So blame them."

He just stares at her with that raised eyebrow, and looks as if to say something but couldn't quite choose the right words. She sighs, thinking its way too early for this shit to start, and looks down, nudging Kili with her foot. He wakes with a start, muttering something about not eating all the cake himself. Opening his eyes fully he sees Cricket standing over him, and gives a sleepy smile. She inclines her head towards his brother and he looks over, smile getting bigger as his mischievous mind starts to whir.

He slowly gets up, edging closer to his brother and leans in close, sticking a finger in his mouth before putting it over his ear and whispering "Wake up Fee, I have a surprise for you...". Then, as Fili starts to open his eyes, Kili sticks the wet finger in his ear gleefully, resulting in Fili fully waking up and yelping, then grabs his snickering brother into a headlock. Both of them wrestle around for a bit before Cricket clears her throat, getting their attention, and points to their uncle watching them. Thorin has an amused look on his face for once, and his nephews stop roughhousing and stand up, looking embarrassed, and mutter a good morning. Cricket smirks at the two of them and heads to her bag, glad to get away before he could actually speak to her about how she had woken up.  
*******************************

Since that morning she had tried to prevent that kind of wakeup from happening again. Though, to tell the truth, there wasnt that much she could do seeing as they on insisted on sleeping close to her, and Thorin had apparently said nothing to them, which surprised her. Maybe she was making a bigger deal about it than it actually was, but better safe than sorry. Still, that first morning she rode with Bofur, who greatly enjoyed her company, convincing herself it was just to help continue her Iglishmek lessons. She also enjoyed his company a great deal though, and kept her promise of introducing him to the music she kept on her phone. Half the day they spent with an ear bud each in, and though she didn't actually learn much that day, she still thought it was a day well spent. Bofur particularly liked the Boondock Saints soundtrack, as well as the song "Whiskey for my Horses", though "If you're gonna be dumb ya gotta be Tough" was a close second. She laughed as he bobbed his head to the music, drawing curious looks from Bifur and Bombur as they ride.

Dwalin on the other hand seemed to like "Let the bodies Hit the Floor", and Mourning Rituals cover of "Bad Moon Rising", which amused her to no end. She discovered this when she was sent to stretch a bit earlier than him, and turned the volume up on her phone so she could hear it as she stretched. When the song ended she turned around to see Dwalin looking a bit oddly on the phone, and apologized. He said there was nothing to apologize for, and asked if he could hear another while he stretched as well. She obliged, and afterwards they worked on posture and sword exercise, skipping sparring for the day.

And that's how her nights would end, after dinner of course. Days full of riding, Iglishmek and music. Nights of training, dinner, talking and sleep.

Her Iglishmek was actually getting pretty good, and she could nearly hold entire conversations with Bifur. For practice they would exchange stories with one another, learning more about the fables of one another's world. Bofur told her they used stories and fables when making toys sometimes, as children love a bit of fantasy. Of course, Bofur was also trying to teach her to cuss like a sailor in Iglishmek, every once in a while sneaking a Khudzul word in as well much to her delight. It wasnt like she didn't hear most of the company cursing in the language anyway, so who care if she said a few words stuck? She was pretty sure that Bofur just liked having someone around who shared his sense of humour.

Her training, on the other hand...well, when sparring with Dwalin she still got her ass handed to her, though she was improving. She was pretty sure as experienced a fighter as he was he could anticipate any move she might make. The princes had followed through with their threat though, and after a week asked if they could help with her training. Dwalin agreed, much to their delight, saying it would be good for her to train with someone around her own age and size.

It was a lot easier to tell when she was making progress with them, though they were still much better than her, and she ended the night with fewer bruises each time. She could tell the training was also toning her up a bit, which was an added bonus.

Fili began teaching her the finer points of dual-weilding, seeing as it was his specialty. He taught her the correct position for her feet, various fighting stances, how tightly to grip her weapons, the best areas to strike at for the maximum amount of damage, along with assorted blocks, thrusts, and parries.

Kili wanted to teach her archery, and sulked when she told him it wouldn't be able to happen the way her wrist was. When at first confused she shows him pictures from the accident she had last year, when her wrist got shattered in 2 places and had to be replaced with metal parts. After seeing what was now in her arm they all agreed archery was a bad idea, so Kili got to be another important part of her training: the guinea pig. She got to try out all of her new techniques on him, and Fili would have her practice until she got a particular move right. Eventually they told her they were going to learn bare knuckle fighting, but for now they were focusing on blades. Fili was a good teacher, and where he lacked Dwalin would fill in, sitting in on all the trainings with him.

By the end of the third week of training with the princes, she was managing to get quite a few shots of her own in. while evading theirs more and more. Dwalin, very pleased with her progress, told her they could all have the next night off to relax, as they had earned it.

Unfortunately they all got their exercise in anyways as that night went to hell.

It began with Gandalf storming off after an argument with, guess who, Thorin. As he stalked off Bilbo and Cricket shared a worried look and looked back to the wizard, Bilbo asking "Gandalf, where are you going?"

"To seek the company of the only one around here who has got any sense."

"And who is that?"

"Myself mr. Baggins!"

"Hey I resent that remark, I have plenty of sense." Cricket yelled at his retreating figure, Bilbo just rolling his eyes at her.

As day turns to night at the dilapidated farmhouse they are camping at, Cricket and Bilbo were talking about the best kind of meat pies to make, enjoying her night off, when Bofur walks up to the two of them, a bowl of stew in each hand.

"Say, could you bring these to the lads? They are watching the ponies and havent had a chance to eat yet."

"Sure, no problem. Come on Bilbo, time for a walkee."

"Thanks lass, much obliged to ya."

The two of them head to the wooded area where the ponies were tied up and see Fili and Kili staring off into the thicker part of the woods.

"Hey you two chow time...hey are you listening?" she walks up and gets a good look at their faces. "Whats wrong?"

"We were supposed to be watching the ponies."

"Well, yea, that's why we brought you food. What about it?"

"Well, we have run into a bit of a problem. There are supposed to be 15 ponies, right?"

"Yes, everyone except for me has one."

"Now there are only 13..."

"What? How in the hell did you lose 2 ponies just like that?"

"We went off to relieve ourselves and heard a loud crack. When we came back, two ponies were missing and the rest were scared."

"Good grief you two...well, lets look around and see if we can find a clue as to where your pony thieves went." They all head towards the pony enclosure, Bilbo noticing a trail of broken limbs and branches leading deeper into the forest. They all quietly make their way down the trail until they come to a fire lit clearing containing the missing ponies...and three cave trolls.

Freaking trolls. Planning on eating the ponies.

So much for her relaxing evening.

"Thats..soo not good guys." Cricket mutters.

"Agreed. Cricket,I need you to do something for me." Fili said quietly, turning to look her in the face. "Hurry up and get back to camp and tell Uncle what happened. We will try to get the ponies back. Can you do that?"

She looks at him and nods."As quick as I can. Please, be careful you guys."

With that she hurries back to the camp, not stopping until she is huffing and puffing in front of Thorin. She catches her breath for a moment then fills him in the best she can.

"We have a big problem."

"Whats wrong?" he asks, looking concerned for the first time since she has met him, even if it's just a bit.

"Three trolls took two of the ponies and plan on eating them. Fili said they are going to try to set them free, which I'm pretty sure just means they are going to send Bilbo in to try to free them, which will probably end badly."

Thorin jumps to his feet, yelling to the rest of the company"Everyone get up, grab your weapons!" then turns to her. "Where are they?"

"There is a trail leading from the pony enclosure deeper into the woods on the far left side, I can show you..."

"No! You stay with the camp in case Gandalf comes back. Besides, you would only get in the way when we start fighting."

"But I could help fight too!"

"Do as I say and stop arguing, I won't risk anyones life letting a half trained girl try to fight a cave troll. Now stay here!"

With that he runs off, the rest of the company following him, a couple like Bofur and Nori looking back worriedly at her, flinching a bit at the murderous glare she was giving Thorin's back as they head off. She curses him the best she can until she can't see him anymore then plops angrily down next to the fire, upset that he thinks she would only get in the way. How is she supposed to prove herself if he doesn't give her a chance?

She fumes for about an hour before Gandalf actually does show up, and fills him in on the situation before leading him to the trail and following it back to the clearing. They stop right outside it and Gandalf whispers to her "You see if you can release any of them while I try to find a way to get the sun to hit them." before circling around the clearing to the other side.

Now, Cricket might have laughed if they hadn't been in so much danger. Half of them were tied up in bags up to their necks in a pile to the side, while the other half were tied to a rotating spit over the fire. The trolls seemed to be arguing about the right seasonings to use, which struck her as the funniest part of the who ordeal.

Pulling out her little knife she kept in her belt, she creeps around behind the members of the company tied in bags, spying Fili in the back. she ponders the best way to go about setting them free when Bilbo stands up and starts arguing with the trolls about the way they planned on cooking the dwarves, drawing their attention away from the pile and giving her a chance to get right up close to them. She positions herself behind Fili and whispers in his ear "See what happens when you go off after bad guys without me?"

He looks sharply at her and grins as she puts a finger up to her lips and smiles back at him, waving her little knife. He nudges the others around him and they all light up, clustering a bit in front of her to shield her from sight as she starts sawing away at Filis rope holding the bag together.

"You're a lifesaver,you know that? I would kiss you if my hands were free."

"Oh hush and let me cut the rope. Just doing my part to be a productive member of the company. Might take a rain check on that kiss though." She winks at him, rope nearly cut, stupid thick thing.

"I though I told you to stay in the camp..."Thorin said, keeping his voice low.

"And wait for Gandalf. Yea, I did. And when he showed up I showed him the way here, he ran around the other way, trying to figure a way out to incapacitate the trolls. So you can skip the should have done as I said speech. Besides, looks like you put yourself in danger without me needing to be around." She smirks at him as she gets Filis rope cut and breathes a sigh of relief.

Thorin just glares at her and looks away. She is about to start on his rope when Fili suddenly smashes himself over her, hiding her from the sight of the troll that comes and picks up Bombur, dangling him in the air. She peeks around his shoulder in horror, hoping Gandalf figures out something quick. She hears Bilbo tell the trolls that the company is full of worms in their tubes.

"Hey, I don't have worms, you have worms!"

"Fili"she whispers"Bilbo is buying you time, go with it"

He nods and yells out"I have worms! Terrible long ones!"

"I do as well!"

"I have the biggest worms of all!"

Real smooth Kili.

She then notices Gandalf behind a rock, light starting to gleam from behind it. "He's here, look behind the rock!"

As they look towards the wizard, said wizard yells out"The sun will take you all!" and strikes the rock, causing sunlight to spill out from it, turning the trolls into stone. She lays back, sighing in relief, then stands up and helps Fili to his feet and out of the bag.

She then blushes as she realizes that all he has on is a pair of light cloth pants, showing his muscled torso, lightly dusted with blonde hairs. She turns around and tries not to look, instead helping the rest of them out of their bags while Fili and Gandalf go to let the dwarves on the spit down.

Unfortunately they are all similarly half-dressed, most of them also well-built for their small stature, and she figures it must be a dwarf thing. Trying to look anywhere but at the bare chests around her she cuts open the last bag, trying hard to not let them see how red her face had gotten.

"So why exactly did they take off most of your clothes?" She asks finally as she spies the pile nest to the ponies.

"Said it would take away from out natural flavor, or something like that. Also, most of us wouldn't fit in the bags with them on. We are lucky they werent added to the fire." Fili said, pulling his shirt back on. Bofur notices her trying not to stare and catches her eye, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She just laughs rolls her eyes at him, glad he can joke about it. Pretty sure he is joking. He is just a natural flirt.

While Thorins sends half of the company back to the camp to disassemble it and bring the stuff back to the clearing, the other half look for the cave Gandalf said would most likely be nearby , as they would want a place close to hide when the sun came up. It ended up being about 300 feet away, and the smell coming from it gave the location up right away. Luckily Cricket was used to horrible smelling things from the years of changing dirty diapers and it didn't bother her that badly.

Lighting torches and stepping in they find piles of bones, spider webs galore and...treasure. Apparently the trolls had been there a while a gathered up quite a hoard. A small treasure chest full of gems and gold pieces, elven skeletons with elegant looking dusty armour, gleaming blades still sharp, and more littered the cave. While the others stayed in the large area looking over everything, Thorin checking out a sword, Cricket veered off to explore a small side tunnel she had spied, leading to a small dead-end cavern.

Walking to the end of it she finds a skeleton that was once clearly female, and an elf at that, by the tattered remains of a dress that still clothed it, showing off feminine curves. There was a shining silver circlet around its head with a dark blue stone, around its neck a necklace with a diamond on the end of it, beautifully crafted, and on its hand a ring, silver adorned with blue rose and vines. Looking to the side she also spies a satchel around its arm which seems to hold something, a beautiful well made brown leather. She goes to pull it off the arm and the entire skeleton come apart, shattering at her feet, satchel still in her hand.

She bends over to pick up the jewelry from the floor, fallen off the shattered skeleton, then sits down on a large rock to inspect the contents of the satchel. Lifting the top she slides her hands in, feeling something round and smooth, yet strangely textured, and slowly pulls out her prize., gasping once it is out.

Because it's an egg. The most beautiful egg she has ever seen.

A large, brilliantly dark blue egg with metallic black edging, warm to the touch and almost pulsing as she holds it. As she examines it she gets an almost content feeling from it, as if the egg is happy she has found it, and is sending out the warmth to let her know. She smiles to herself, cradling the egg close to her as the pulsing gets stronger, then starts as she hears Kili yelling for her.

"Hey, did you get lost in there? Should we send in a rescue team?"

"Just a minute, I'm fine, just find something that's all!" she yells back, then stuffs the egg, along with the jewelry from the skeleton, back in the bag. She then heads back towards the mouth of the cave.

Kili and Fili look at her smiling as she walks towards them back into the sunlight. Fili hands her the bag that came there with her, then looks at the satchel on her shoulder."Find anything good? A couple of the boys buried a chest full of treasure, calling it an investment for later." he says chuckling.

"Actually yea" she says, pulling out the circlet, ring and necklace and showing them to the two. "Found these on a skeleton in the back cavern." The boys eyes gleam at her finds and congratulate her on it, saying she should put them on, show them off.

"Maybe later, when im not covered in filth and sweat and who knows what from that cave. I did actually find something else as well..."

She is about to pull out the egg when a sled pulled by rabbits crashes through the woods and stops in front of them, a strange-looking man with a hate and bird poop in his beard steering it. Gandalf seems to recognize him and pulls the discombobulated looking man off to the side. She closes the top on the satchel, thinking it might be best to show them the egg later.

Gandalf and Radagast(for that was his name) talk for a while off to the side while the rest of the company relax after the events of last night, everyone jumping to their feet at the same time as howls rips through the woods.

"Um, guys? What was that?"she asks nervously.

"That would be orcs, for real this time."Kili says while Fili pulls out a blade, looking around for one to jump out any second.

Radagast volunteers to lead the orcs away from them, and speeds off one way on his sled while the company runs the other, leading the wargs on a merry chase.

Now, in the top ten list of exercises that Cricket enjoyed doing...running was probably #-75 on that list. She hated it with a passion and was pretty sure it given the chance it would hate her as well. She could never get down breathing right when she tried it back at home, and even in basic she had a hard time with it.

However, when you are literally running for your life, it becomes a completely different story, which was shown in the fact she didn't die of a heart attack or pass out from exhaustion, though she was pretty sure her training was helping with that a bit as well.

After a while Gandalf began directing everyone where to go, Thorin giving him a distrusting look as they run from the now catching up orcs and wargs. They finally come to a large rock formation, Kili shooting arrows at them to try to slow them down. Gandalf suddenly makes a sound of discovery, pointing out a small tunnel leading into the ground, large enough for everyone to jump down, and gestures for them to do so.

"Where are you leading us wizard?" Thorin yells, and Gandalf yells back"Just get in you fools!" then jumps down himself.

After a couple of them jump in, Crickets takes a deep breath and does so herself, yelling "Geronimo!" and sliding down, only to land on Bofur. She smiles at him despite the danger they are probably still in."Thanks for breaking my fall, you're a peach."

He chuckles as she helps him up."No worries lass, rather you than one of the others, can you imagine Dwalin or Bombur landing on me? At least you plenty soft and light enough to not do any lasting damage, helps cushion the landing." he says winking at her with that glint in his eye. "I will say, you can land on me anytime."

She snorts"Good grief man, you are the biggest flirt I have ever me, I swear."

Looking back towards the opening Kili and Thorin finally drop through, and everyone goes quiet as they hear hooves and screaming up above. Finally it goes quiet and an orc corpse drops though the tunnel, riddled with arrows. Thorin walks over and examines the body, then rips an arrow out, sneering.

"Elves." he says, voice full of contempt and he drops the arrow and spits on the orc corpse.

"I canna see where the pathway leads!" yells Dwalin from a side tunnel. "Do we follow it or not?"

"Follow it of course!" yells Bofur

"I think that would be wise." Gandalf mutters loudly, Cricket giving him a suspicious look as they head into the tunnel, following Thorin.

They havent even been walking for 5 minutes when Thorin stops suddenly, Gandalf overtaking him and smiling. Thorin just gives him a death glare as Cricket pushes forward to see what all the hubub is about, and gasps at the sight before her.

"Welcome to Rivendale, the last holy house east of the sea."

"Its beautiful." Cricket exclaims, Bilbo nodding his head in agreement.

Thorin stomps up to Gandalf. "You think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."

"Of course they will, but we have questions that must be answered. For your quest, and for Miss Cricket."

She looks up surprised that he would bring her name up. Thorin glances at her, then looks at Gandalf, angry look softening.

"If we are to be successful this will need to be handled with tact. And respect. And no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me. And Miss Cricket, if she so chooses, as she is the only other person I trust not to insult them, especially as she has pressing matters of her own that need answers."

With that they head down the cliff into Rivendale, Cricket not knowing to expect, Thorin shaking his head in disgust.

"Bloody Elves..."

_**Now with pictures! We have a Picture of them all asleep together art/Sketch3435841-465376792**_

_**and a picture of Cricket crying at the fire towards the begining. art/Sketch23153411-465376301**_

_**Not very good i know but I am trying. I also have a picture hinting at things to come, if anyone wants me to post it for a seak peak let me know!  
**_

_**Yay mysterious blue eggs!  
**_


	7. Queens Thorns

_**Warning, Galadriel likes to give stuff away, Bifur fluff and I dont own the hobbit. BTW all the italics are what Bifur is saying in Iglishmek.**_

Their entrance into Rivendale was remarkably uneventful, considering Thorin expected the elves to apparently jump them at any moment. That, and the fact that while Gandalf and Lord Elrond were talking in elvish, Thorin basically accused them of conspiring against them all. Cricket barely held back a laugh at the look on Thorins face when Gandalf informed him that they were being invited to dine with them, and as they walked by Gandalf winked at her cheerily.

As they followed the elves to the dining area, Cricket could only look around in awe at the beauty of Rivendale, everything was just so clean and pure looking, if it was possible for a building to look so. The entire area was surrounded by a valley lush and green, with a waterfall, and gardens, and...there was just so much to look at. Unfortunately no one else seemed to appreciate the sight as much as her, the company mainly keeping eyes on their hosts for any sign of betrayal.

Silly, stubborn dwarves.

As they walk up a flight of stair to a populated area, she notices several tall, graceful elves peeking at the traveling company in curiosity. self-consciously she looks down at herself and grimaces, seeing pants and a shirt dirty and ripped in places from training, fingernails almost black and filled with grime, entire body covered in a thin layer of dust, spider webs and grass bits. She groans when she realizes how she must smell if she looks this bad, it being easy to ignore when surrounded by a bunch of equally dirty and smelly men.

However, now around others it is only too painfully evident.

Gathering up her pride and throwing it to the wind she catches up to Gandalf and tugs on his robe sleeve. "Um Gandalf, I have a question."

He looks down at her and smiles, curious look on his face."What is it child? I can assure you there will be a chance to discuss your situation..."

"It's not that, at least not yet. Is there any chance of a bath possibly, or if not that, a place to just wash up a bit, maybe change clothes? I feel really weird being this dirty around everyone here, and I know I must smell rank."

He laughs merrily at her distressed face and turns to Lord Elrond. "Could you have someone take her to a place where she can bathe?"

"I don't want to cause a fuss.." she began.

"No trouble at all, Cricket is it? I am sure there is quite a story as to how you ended up traveling with this company of Gandalfs." He says gently to her, then gestures to an elf on the right of him, telling her something in Sinderin before looking back at her. "What kind of host would I be if I didn't offer my guests a chance to bathe?"

The elf he brought over smiles at her and gives a short bow. "If you will follow me please." As Cricket starts to follow the elf up a flight of stairs, she is stopped by a familiar brooding voice.

"And where do you think you are going?"

She sighs in exasperation and turns around to face Thorin, noticing the entire company has stopped while he glares at her, Fili and Kili looking apologetic, Bofur Bifur and Nori looking amused, and the rest just watching to see how it plays out.

"I am going to take a bath and change into clean clothes if I can. You can go ahead and eat, but I for one," She says smirking at them "don't feel like smelling like a troll cave." With that she turns away and starts back after the female elf, not waiting for a response, just barely hearing one of the boys, probably Kili, ask if she is accusing them of smelling bad.

She follows the elf to a medium-sized room with a soft-looking bed, and a balcony overlooking the gardens. "These are our guest quarters, and your room while you are here. The room to your right contains a bath that has already been prepared. Would you like us to clean and mend the garments you are wearing now while you bathe?"

"Oh, sure, if it's not too much trouble. I'm afraid my clothes aren't really made for long travels. Thank you."

The elf inclines her head to Cricket and heads to the door, stopping before she leaves the room sand turning back to its occupant. "Leave the garments you have on now on the bed when you bathe and someone will come to collect them, I will leave something for you to wear while you are here." Saying that the elf leaves, and Cricket wastes no time dropping her bags and stripping down, grabbing her bathing stuff and heading to the bath area.

The tub is one of the largest she has ever seen, already filled with steaming hot water, vials of different oils and perfumes next to it on a table, and steps on the inside and outside of it for easy access. There are also two fluffy towels and a washcloth on said table for when she is done. As she slowly climbs in she hisses as the hot water hits various cuts and bruises on her from training and traveling, and when she finally makes it all the way in she sighs in contentment, leaning back and enjoying it. She takes her time scrubbing herself down and washing her hair and body, taking advantage of the oils for her skin, mainly Eucalyptus and spearmint, then just sat back and relaxed for about 15 minutes while the water cooled down.

She realizes after a while she has to get out, but doesn't want to. She eases herself out of the water as to not get a headrush, and wraps a towel around herself, heading back to the bedroom. She towel dries her hair and gives it a quick brush to get the tangles out, letting it fall loose around her head to air dry. She then takes a look to what the elf left her to wear.

On the bed is a simple dress, dark blue with grey lining, and elegant yet sturdy slippers, along with what looks like a silky pair of underwear. Blushing at the thought of wearing something so delicate she pulls them on, reveling in the softness, and just manages to get the dress on when she hears a knock on her door.

"Just a minute!" she yell, making sure everything is in place(and that she isn't popping out of her dress, considering there was no bra) before going to the door and opening it up to reveal a sheepish looking Kili and Fili.

"Hey guys, whats up?" When they just looking at her, cocking their heads to the side like confused puppies she smiles and snaps in front of their faces. "Hello, earth to Kili and Fili...you would think you have never seen a girl in a dress before..."

They jerk out of it and look back at her."Uncle sent us to check on you, you had been gone for a while."

"What was he afraid the big bad elves had killed and eaten me? Or were brainwashing me to their evil ways?" She says, raising an eyebrow at the two of them. They blush at the accusations and drag their feet of the ground like little kids.

"No, nothing like that...you had just been gone a while, and we wanted to make sure you were ok, maybe escort you to dinner?" They put on gallant faces and each give a little bow, coming back up with familiar grins on their faces. She can't help but grin back at them, and after grabbing the satchel with the egg and her other findings in it and putting it on crossbody style, she takes each of their arms and lets them lead her to the dining area and the rest of the company.

As they walk up, a couple of the company members notice them and frown, like Thorin, while the most of them smile and wave them over. On their end of the table is Ori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur, Fili and Kili. Bombur and Dori are in the middle, while the rest are on Thorins end of the table. Bofur grins at her as she plops down next to the princes and himself.

"We were starting to worry bout you lass, did you fall asleep in the bath?" he asks teasingly.

"I will have you know I didn't, thank you very much" she retorts, grabbing bread and cheese, cutting them both into slices. "I simply took advantage of having a good bath while I could, seeing as I didn't feel like smelling like a sweaty boot while I was here.

Bifur starts signing towards her, and Bofur snorts at what he says. "I agree, there is nothing wrong with a bit of sweat, its manly."

"You're right, it can be manly, but there is a small problem with your logic."She takes a slice of bread and cheese and holds it over a candle, melting the cheese."I'm not a man, in case you haven't noticed." She smothers butter on another slice of bread and tops it over the cheese melted slice, grinning in triumph.

"Oh we have noticed. That pretty little tree-shagger dress reminds us pretty well." Bofur comments, getting him an elbow in the ribs from Bifur. "Ow, what was that for, it was a compliment! Least I don't think she is a fragile little flower like some in the company, not mentioning any names."

"_No, she is a flower, just not fragile. She has thorns_." Bifur signed, earning a snort from Kili this time.

"Thats the truth! Have you ever been on the other end of one of her hits? I swear Dwalin is rubbing off on her!"

"Its true." agreed Fili from the other side." She has come a long way in such a short time. I would say more rose than flower though." As their side of the table goes quiet for a second staring at him, Nori breaks the silence by laughing, and Fili looks down at his food and blushes, ignoring Kili sniggering next to him."What, I'm just adding to the conversation...shut up Kee it's not funny..."

Cricket just sits back eating her improvised grilled cheese sandwich, amused by the arguments, and pleased by the compliments. Bifur notices her silence and smiles at her, signing over the table. "_I think you have admirers. They all think highly of you, and I have to admit, if you had a beard you would be an ideal female dwarf_."

"What, sarcastic, stubborn and slightly taller than all of you?"

"_Strong willed. Willing to fight. Loyal to family. Spirited. A good heart. All things we hope for in a mate._" When she doesn't immediately answer he presses on."_And yes you are lovely as well. You are actually wearing the Durin house color right now, if you didn't know, and it suits you. But what good is a pretty face if the inside is cold and ugly and character that will be looked to fondly when it comes to a mate, and whoever ends up with you will be very lucky_."

She tears up a bit at that, and wipes them away before they can fall."Thank you Bifur, I think thats the nicest thing anyone has said to me...well ever. I had no idea you though so well of me."

He grins widely, then he face turns serious."_Make no mistake though, anyone who tries to court you will have to get past me first, which won't be easy_." Nori notices this last part as Cricket frowns.

"Who is courting her?" He asks grinning.

"_No one yet_. _But she has no family here, but I was telling her if and when she did, I would be standing in for them._"

He considers it for a moment and nods."Sounds about right, you can count me in as well, its only right, you being alone here. I suspect half the company would jump in at the thought of you courting."

"_Thats right, just consider us your adopted brothers_."

"Yea, courters beware!"

"I'll be the best big brother ever!"

"No slackers or cowards for you!"

"Don't know about brother, but I wouldn't mind courting her myself..."

"_No one would let you court her Bofur, you too much of a pervert_."

"Thanks a lot Bifur, glad to know you have my back." Bofur grumbled as half the company laughed."But they are right lass, if they can't pass our critiques they aren't worth your time."

"How did we even end up talking about this again? Looks like I need to research Dwarrow courting.."she grumbles to herself "Courting is kind of the last thing on my mind you guys, especially since I have no idea if I am here for good or not. Can you imagine if I did start to court someone and got sent back home all of a sudden? That would really kind of suck, for both of us."

Everyone kind of sobered up at that and nodded in agreement. It was no secret among them she was worried about whether not she could ever get home, and no one wanted to worry her further. She glances over to see Fili still staring down at his plate quietly. She frowns, about to speak up, when someone beats her to it.

"Lady Cricket?"

She looks up to see another female elf standing next to her, everyone else looking up curiously."Um, yes? Can I help you?"

"Not me, but the Lady Galadriel, she wishes to speak with you, if you would please."

"What about?" says Thorins, standing up and glaring at the elf. Good grief, it's a good thing he wasn't part of the courting conversation, if he was one of her new adopted brothers she would never get a chance to date, court, whatever.

"She did not say. She only asked me to escort Lady Cricket to her." Cricket stands up, ignoring Thorins argument about "Not trusting the damn pointy ear bastards" when she hears him talking in a louder voice.

"Fili, go with her." Fili looks up startled and nods, standing up to join her, and Thorin slowly sits back down, face again reminding her of an angry brooding Derek Hale.

"Come one then." she says to Fili, and they both follow the elf down the stairs and through Rivendale, until they reach the gardens Cricket can see from her rooms balcony. She leads them through till they come to a clearing with a basin in the middle, next to a stream coming from the waterfall. She gestures for the two of them to sit at one of the benches, then leaves them alone in the clearing to await their host.

"He's right you know. Bifur that is." She hears Fili say quietly. She looks over at him questioningly.

"What about?"

"That dress, the color...they fit you."

She smiles at his almost shy comment, then looks up as an elf woman who can only be Galadriel appears. She is one of the most graceful and ethereal looking beings Cricket has ever seen, tall and lithe with gleaming blonde hair, fair skin and a soft white dress that dragged the ground. She almost seemed to glow, and her face held a peaceful, calming expression. Even Thorin wouldn't be able to be rude to her, though she assumed he would probably still want to.

Cricket, having a sudden need to show respect, jumps to her feet and attempts a curtsy, feeling clumsy next to the elf. She feels Fili doing the same next to her, only a bow, and is glad at least one of the dwarves can show manners. Galadriel smiles down at them serenely."Please rise Lady Cricket, I invited you here after all, there is no need for such formality, though it is not unwelcome. The same to you, Prince Fili of the House of Durin. Though unexpected, your presence is not unwelcome."

"Thank you, though please call me Cricket, as far as I know im not a Lady." Galadriel inclines her head to her."As for Fili..."

"My uncle does not like the idea of one of our company going off alone to meet with an el...stranger in an unknown place. He asked me to accompany her to make sure nothing happens to her."

"Did he now?" asked Galadriel with an amused smile. "That was very gallant of you to do so young prince, she is lucky to have a friend such as you." At that she indicates for them to both sit down, and asks Cricket to tell the story of how she came to be in middle earth. Cricket obliges, and the Lady listens carefully as she describes in detail the events leading up to her being at the park when the storm hit, and her being knocked out, letting Fili fill in certain part, like the bright light that she fell out of and pulling her to the camp, ending with them here at Rivendale. When finished Galadriel has a contemplative look on her face.

"So do you know how to get me home?" Cricket asked, hoping for good news. Fili stayed silent, his face a blank.

"I'm sorry but I'm not sure I can. It sounds like who or what ever brought you here, brought you for a reason, and likely you won't be able to go home until that reason is achieved."

"I was afraid you would say something like that. Gandalf keeps telling everyone that our quest won't succeed without me, and I have no idea why he would think that. He won't go into details at all, and I'm left trying to learn survival skills as we go along. It sucks, having someone tell you that you are meant to achieve something like that, and have no idea how or what." She is close to tears, and Fili puts a hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her.

"He may be right, though I'm not convinced that is the only reason. You said you found a female elf skeleton in the troll caves, correct? Was there and jewelry on it, a ring or a circlet? One of those would usually indicate the house they belonged to, as well as her station."

"Yea actually, there was a circlet and a ring, as well as a diamond necklace with very detailed carvings. I put them in my bag in case we ran into someone who may know who they belonged to."

"May I see them?" Cricket nods and reaches into the bag, pulling out the jewelry and handing them to her. Galadriels face takes on a sad expression and she examines them, before smiling sadly."I recongnize these...they belonged to a friend of mine, an elf that had gone on a journey of great importance, which set out many, many years ago. It is why there were so many well armed guards in the cave as well, holding the weapons that Gandalf and your King now hold. When she disappeared there was a great sadness, as not only was she a well-loved elf, but she was carrying a great treasure with her."

"There was a great deal of treasure in the troll cave..."Fili began, frowning.

"It was not a normal treasure." Said Galadriel softy. "It was more precious than any gold or jewel could ever be, even your Arkenstone. You know what I speak of, don't you?" This last part she directed at Cricket, who froze and paled, automatically clutching at the satchel. "May I see it?"

Cricket nods slowly, saying nothing, and reaches into her bag, gingerly pulling out the shimmering blue egg, much to Filis surprise. Once again the egg is warm to the touch, and she feels a comforting aura coming from it. Galadriel looks on knowingly, and Cricket reluctantly hand it to her. Her face takes on a look of awe as she holds it, and she seems to almost be listening to it."I have not seen an egg such as this in centuries. It is a rare thing indeed...and very fond of you, it seems."

"Would that explain the warmth coming from it every time I hold it, and the almost..content feeling? I don't know how else to explain it."

"Yes, it would. You are quite lucky it has chosen you. It is already protective of you, which is a good sign, almost unheard of considering how long it has actually been in your possession. Keep it safe, and when it hatches, it will do the same thing for you." With that she hands the egg back to her, much to Crickets surprise.

"Aren't you going to keep it?"

"It's not mine to keep child, it is decided on you. I have a feeling this egg may be a big part of why you are here." Cricket looks at her for a moment before nodding and putting it back in the bag.

"Thats all fine and well,"says Fili finally, curious about something. "But what is inside the egg? You keep saying it, not actually telling us what it is."

"Why, a high dragon, of course."

"A dragon? What do you mean a freaking dragon, she can't be carrying a dragon egg around, we are on our way to kill a dragon!" yell Fili, jumping up angrily and waving his arms about. "It will kill us all!"

"Not so, sit down young prince, and I will explain to you the situation. He does so warily, keeping an eye on the satchel as if he expects it to explode any minute. Cricket just rolls her eyes and him and looks back at Galadriel.  
"It depends on the persons who hatches it, the state of a dragon when it is born, and how it is raised. Dragons hatch will all the knowledge of their ancestors, but still need to be taught and trained, especially when they are practicing their magic. Your Cricket is a good person with a kind heart. Any dragon hatched and raised by her would have no chance to turn as Smaug did, though even that was not entirely his fault. Do not worry, young prince."

"So you are saying as long as I am good, the dragon will be good?"

"That is precisely what I am saying."

Fili keeps frowning but nods."Its hard to stomach, considering what Smaug did to Erebor, to Dale. But if you say that this dragon will be good...well, I will keep an open mind. We may need to keep it a secret from Uncle for the time being though. I'm not sure how keen he would be about a baby dragon flying around with us."

"Yea, good point, I don't really look forward to that conversation. We should at least tell Kili though, he will wonder whats going on, and that way when it comes to time to tell Thorin, I can have the two of you on my side."

Galadriel smiles at the two of them, glad they have came to an understanding, and once more directs her attention to Cricket."As a reward for returning my friends things to me, I would like to offer you a glimpse into my mirror. It can show you many things from the past, and the future. Things that have yet to happen, things that may still be changed. It may even show you a glimpse of what you are to accomplish. Would you like to look into it?"

Cricket thinks about it and nods, standing up and walking towards the basin in the center of the clearing, as Galadriel takes a jug of water and pours it in, warning her to not touch the water. Cricket glances at Fili for a second, then looks back to the basin, getting up next to it and staring into the water.

The images come fast and jumbled at first,some fuzzy while some are clear as day. As most of them start to become clear some begin to stand out from the others. She sees herself feeding her nephew in a high chair, then taking him to a park, then the last time she saw her mom and him before they moved to Texas. She sees her first kiss at the age of 6 on the school before she pushes him backwards down the slide, and when she got her first vehicle, paid for herself, a little 49cc scooter that she rode around everywhere, along with the first year she worked at GameStop. The images that come after that are ones she doesn't recognize. Her, with a glowing blue egg on her lap, magic swirling around them as the egg starts to hatch. A battlefield covered in bodies, Thorin, Kili and Fili and lying close to one another, their life blood leaking around them as they lay still and lifeless. A golden dragon raining fire down on a town sitting on the water. Her with an arrow in her stomach, running , running the best through she can through a large fighting host. Bilbo being thrown off a mountain by an unknown assailant, a look of shock and betrayal on his face. Spiders larger than her surrounding the company, and a white orc with a scar on his face. It then starts to go dark, and she simply feels several strong emotions in a row; lust, anger, freedom, happiness, and finally fear.

When she finally pulls away from the basin she is gasping and covered in sweat. Backing away from it she almost falls backwards, but Fili is there to catch her, and he looks angrily at the Lady."What did you do to her?"

"I did nothing but show her a glimpse of the past, and what may become of the future."

"Wait." Cricket says, trying to stand up straight, allowing Fili to help keep her upright. "Are you saying that all that might not happen? Did you see any of it?"

"I saw glances but nothing more, as it was your own glimpse and not mine. However, I can tell you that depending on your actions, not all of that may come to pass. Some of it most likely still will, but you may be able to stop the worst of it from happening. The future is not set in stone, Lady Cricket."

"Thats...a relief. I don't know if I could live with myself if any of them died..."She paused, not wanting to say more at the moment despite Filis questioning look."Later, I promise." He nods, and lets her go slowly, he finally being able to stand on her own.

"Now that we have that out-of-the-way" Galadriel says breaking the tension, "One of the women said that your garments are ripped and worn, not quite suitable for traveling as it is. If you will allow me, I would like to give you some clothing more suitable to the task you have at hand."

"Oh you don't have to do that! You have done so much already, I couldn't possibly.."

"I would take the offer" Fili whispers into her ear. "She is right, your clothes aren't really made for traveling, and we are going to be heading into the mountains soon. You will need something warmer than you have."

She glances at him and he nods at her, so she sighs and looks back at Galadriel."I accept then, thank you."

"Good, it is my pleasure to make sure you are prepared for your journey. Prince Fili, if you would be so kind as to go back to the dining and let your company know what is going on, I will take Cricket to pick out some things."

"Wait, no, why can't I come with her?"

"Because she will be changing silly boy, and you are not permitted to watch, no matter how fierce a protector you are." His face flushes bright red as he gets what she is implying, and nods fiercely."I promise you she is in safe hands with me, and will come to no harm."

"Fili, I will be fine, I promise. Go back to everyone, let them know I am ok. I will come back as soon as I can." She smiles at him and he smiles reluctantly back, agreeing with her.

"Allright, but if you take too long we are going to come looking for you again."

"Deal." He bows again at Galadriel and walks away out of the garden, and the Lady turns back to Cricket.

"If you are ready we can go, that way your dwarf won't worry too much." she smiles wryly at her, and walks out of the clearing as well, Cricket following behind.

"He isn't my dwarf." she mutters to herself, though she can swear she sees the Lady's shoulders bouncing in silent laughter. They make their way once again through the winding halls and stairs of Rivendale, this time stopping in front of what looks like a home. Its has leaves covered vines crawling up it, and several busy looking elves are walking in and out of it, carrying all matters of items. It is also very close to the gardens, with a wonderful view of the waterfall.

"This is where I stay when I am in Riverdale." Galadriel says as Cricket looks around. "I called on a tailor to try to fix the garments you brought, as well as hem any that you try on to fit better if needed." They walk up a flight of stairs to an elegant, rose filled room, where an elf with pure white hair pulled into a bun stood. As they walk in the elf turns to them with a smile on her face.

"Lady Galadriel, it's a pleasure as always."

"The same to you Lady Corasont. Have you managed to fix the garments you were sent?"

"Yes" said Corasont, though a frown crosses her face, the first that Cricket has seen on one."They were very strangely made though, and I don't know what the child was thinking traveling so long in them when they clearly weren't made for it."

"I really didn't have any other choice." said Cricket jumping in, feeling she needed to defend herself. "Its the only clothes I have, other than a similar pair in my backpack. Not only that but im surrounded by male dwarves all the time, so there isn't really much of a chance to change. Believe me, if I could I would."

"Well, there was no helping it I suppose." Corasont said, handing her the new repaired clothes. "However, the garments given to you here will be much better suited for traveling and any trouble you may run into while on the road."

"Lady Corasont is well-known throughout the Middle-earth for her skills at weaving Mythril into her garments," explained Galadriel. "resulting in garments that will protect you better than any other. I have also asked Gandalf to add a spell in to all of them, to protect them from fire, as that will come in handy very soon" She says, winking at Cricket.

"Does he know why?"

"I'm not sure, he may just believe it is a precaution for when you encounter Smaug. It is your choice whether or not to tell him the truth, however."

They go through clothes for about 30 minutes before Cricket decides on some that really catch her eye. Corasont critiques everything she tries on, commenting with "Not your color" and "Doesn't fit your personality" and "Makes yu look like an old spinster", while Galadriel just sits back silently and watches. The clothes she picks out Corasont has nothing to complain about. Not only that, but they fit like a glove, with no need to hem them up or anything. Galadriel and Corasont both look pleased as she pulls everything on and steps out, showing off her new duds.

First there is a pair of knee-high black boots with silvery grey edging, soft on the inside to keep her feet warm in the cold, but not so much so that they will sweat in normal weather. Following that is a pair of dark brown leather pants stitched up at the sides, almost skin-tight but not quite that, so she can move around freely. After that is a loose dark blue blouse, tied up at the front. Over that was a vest/long-tailed waistcoat that came down to her mid-thigh, the same black color as her boots, with pockets on the inside and outside and a single silver button on the front keeping it closed. Next is a pair of long dark blue fingerless gloves that go over her elbows. Last but not least is her favorite, as her jacket had been pretty much destroyed. A beautiful, soft, dark brown leather jacket the same color as her pants, with long bell sleeves and a hood, as well as a high collar. The entire thing was edged in silver-grey, and it only came up to her mid abdomen.

"This feels wonderful." Cricket says with a wonderous grin on her face as both Galadriel and Corasont look on in approval."Its so light and soft, and I can move around so well in it! Are you sure I can accept this? I don't have any money, and this must cost a fortune!"

"You can and you will accept it." Galadriel said firmly. "You are going to be put through many dangers on this journey, and must be prepared. It is my gift to you, and I have already paid for it, so it is done."

"Besides, those colors fit you extremely well." Said Corasont from beside her. That outfit looks like it was made for you, and nothing will protect you better, besides a full set of armour, and that would just be a hindrance. Mythril is woven through everything on you, and I dare say you are better equipped than the dwarves you are traveling with."

"Not quite, but almost." Said Galadriel mysteriously, and with a smile she pulls out something wrapped in a silvery material. She hands it to Cricket, who takes it and sets it down on the table to unwrap. Inside are two silver-grey belts, made to criss-cross each other on the hip, along with four sheathed weapons; two daggers, and two short-swords. Cricket takes on of the short-swords and unsheathes it, looking at it in awe. It is a gleaming silver, with sapphire blue swirls climbing up it, and a sapphire in the hilt.

"The daggers are the Queens Thorns, or Turinqui Nasse, while the swords names are Silme and Estel, which mean Starlight and Hope. They belonged to the last female to hatch a dragon, the protector of the queen, so it is only right they belong to you now. It is said that if you call them by their true names, no matter how far away of who holds them, they will always appear in your hand, will always return to you."

"The protector of the Queen...dragon queen?"

"Yes. It was a very long time ago, when dragons were more plentiful, and held an alliance with the races of middle earth to protect it from harm and evil. Something caused the dragons to go barren, and their numbers began dwindling. Not only that, but some dragons began to exhibit signs of madness, like that of extreme gold sickness. Dragons have always had a certain fondness for treasure, but back then could control it, and would ever make contracts to guard the treasures of royalty, as long as they were given a place to sleep and food to eat, and it worked out in favor of both parties. As they began to go mad, unfortunately, they became dangerous, and instead of trying to help, most of them were hunted down and killed. Some survived, like Smaug, and hid, while a small few who hadn't went mad met together with the queen and her protector, along with their riders, and hatched a plan to protect the few surviving eggs. We only know of the one that was intrusted to us, the one you carry. As for the rest, they are lost."

"What caused the barrenness and madness?"

"We believe Sauron in disguise. He was angry he could not hatch a dragon for himself, and believed they were too much of a threat to his plans, so decided they needed to be gone. Truely, if we still had our dragons and their riders during the war with him, it would have been very different."

"I...you have so much faith in me, and have given me so much. I hope I can raise it the way it needs to be...they way you apparently think I can. It's a lot to shoulder, that's for sure. I'm kind of worried it's too much for me."

"Just the fact you are worried about it means you will do fine, and if it is too much, remember you have friends that will be there for you when you need them." Cricket nods and pulls on the belts, the swords resting crosswise on the back, one dagger in her boot, while the other is put in a long pocket on the inside of her waistcoat.

"One more thing before you leave. This is a book on all information about the last hatchings, and the people who hatched them, as well as a collection of information from their journals. It should give you a better idea of what to expect. I would explain more to you, but I have a meeting with Gandalf and Elrond, and you have a group of anxious dwarves to return to."

"Thank you, I will never forget these gifts. If there is anything at all I can do..."

"She smiles gently at her as they walk out the door, saying goodbye to Lady Corasont. "Simply accept being a friend of the elves, and in return we will always have a place for you, and your dragon, to stay."

"Thats a deal!" Cricket says grinning as she heads down the stairs to the dining area to meet back up with the company, information whirring through her mind like a hurricane. As she makes it to the dining area she can hear the dwarves arguing about something, hearing her name several times before she stops and grins. She then yells out to them, getting their attention. "Hey, did I miss anything important?"

The looks on their faces are priceless as she walks down the steps, most mouths agape as they take in her new clothes and weapons, before comments start to fly.

"_Look at that, she looks ready for traveling now_!"

"She looks like a damn elf..."

"She is nowhere near tall enough for an elf, and her ears aren't pointed. The clothes do fit her though, colors as well."

"I want a closer look at those swords if we are going to start training with them!"

"She looks like a proper little adventuress!"

"Wearing that she will definitely start getting courters!"

"I will beat up anyone who tries to court her! Can I see one of your swords?" then "Ouch, that's sharp, I'm bleeding!"

"Thats what happens when you mess with the edge of a sword, Kee!"

"Whatever, I just wanted to test it out Fee!"

She grins and looks at Fili. "What do you think, better than what I was wearing?"

He looks her up and down, an odd glint in his eye, one she sometimes sees in Thorins when he is looking at Bilbo."Oh yes, much better. These are the clothes the Lady gave you? They fit your...personality very well."

"Sure its her personality you think they fit well?" Bofur says, grinning at Fili and winking as Fili turns bright red.

Cricket just rolls her eyes"Yes, they gave me some to choose from, and the ones I liked they gave me, which resulted in my outfit, they have mythril or something like that woven into them. Galadriel gave me the weapons as well, said they belonged to me."

"Mythril!? That stuff is hard to come by! It is harder than diamonds, and difficult to forge into anything, much less weave into clothes!"

Cricket just shrugs. "She had a whole pile of them, said it was her specialty."

"Huh. well, anyway, you better go get your stuff from your room, Thorin is having us leave in about an hour. Everyone thinks we are staying for the night, and they can't stop us from leaving if they don't know when we are leaving."

"Good grief, not all elves are out to get you guys. So paranoid, I swear."

"Yea yea, you want to argue with him go ahead. If not, go ahead and get your bag so we can leave quick." he turns around, intending to walk over to Kili but stops and looks back at her for a moment."By the way, Bofur is right."

"About what?"

"You do look good in that." He then winks and heads over to his brother, while Cricket feels her face getting warm and rushes off to her room before anyone can see her blushing.

Stupid dwarves with stupid compliments making her stupid face red.

She swears she can feel the egg thrumming in agreement.

**_Argh this chapter took forever and im still not happy with it, but there ya go. Next chapter will have a link to fanart of her new duds. Yea Dragons! Let me know what ya think!_**


	8. Thoughts

_So this was supposed to be a short filler of thorin's thought, but when I was done it had turned into an entire chapter. So there ya go. Also I may not quite have figured out her pairing...bad me._

It wasn't that Thorin didn't like Cricket.

No, he didn't unlike her at all. She was kind to everyone in the company, with a wit at times that matched Bofurs, if a little less perverted. She often on would speak at long lengths of time to Bombur and Bilbo about cooking techniques and recipes, which would keep the two occupied( and Bilbo in one place for long periods of time, not that he would take the chance to stare at him or anything, he just liked to keep an eye on him). Also the fact that she took the time to learn Iglishmek so she could speak with Bifur spoke numbers to him, and if he ignored the fact that they taught her, how could he complain about it?

It wasn't the fact that she had become such fast friends with his nephews either. On the contrary, growing up they had little time for friends, between weapons training, moving from place to place, and learning royal duties and niceties from their mother and himself, along with helping their uncle make money once they were old enough. In fact he was pleased about them being friends, as she brought out a side in them he hadn't seen much of since they were children, and kept a smile on their faces for most of the trip so far, especially when she was sharing the little metal box she called a phone with them, showing them music and pictures from her world so far. If anything, the only thing he didn't like about their relationship was the way they all slept, even though they did it out of a need they felt to protect her. Fili would always be right up next to her, most of the time keeping her close and cuddled like a teddy bear, while Kili would just sleep as he always did with Fili and sprawl over the both of them. It was actually kind of cute, and sometimes he wished that he could cuddle with the hobbit like that...

Where did that come from?

The fact that she would train with Dwalin just made him respect her, as it showed wasn't afraid to protect herself, rather than someone else do it for her. She was even pretty good, having knocked Kili to the ground several times after the first month of training, and each month after that just getting better, especially after receiving her new clothes and weapons from the tree-shaggers. The clothes allowed her better movement, not ripping and hindering her like her old clothes, and the short-swords almost seemed made for her, though he was convinced it was some kind of elf magic that did that. Dwalin himself had even let a few comments loose during dinner around the fire about her progress, how far she had gotten with her blocks and weaving, and Thorin planned on visiting her training some night to see for himself, maybe step in for a spar.

The fact that she went off alone with the knife-ears did bother him a bit, but he knew she didn't the elves like he did, so he couldn't blame her for not being as suspicious as he was. And they had been quite kind to her, showering her with gifts, and fine gifts at that, so she could better survive in their world, though they apparently had not known much about her situation, and how to get her back home. That had been one of the main reasons he had sent Fili with her, other that not wanting her alone with them for too long, he had wanted to know if they had known anything about how to get her home, and he was actually saddened for her when Fili had came back and just shaken his head. Of course he had just gotten back from discussing the map with Lord Elrond when Fili returned, and hadn't been able to let it linger for long, already seeing that part of the quest in his head.

Even Bilbo had been enthralled with the elves, and Thorin tried very hard not to let that get to him. He would have to discretely ask Balin what hobbits admired, as he wasn't going to let those elves show him..the dwarves.. up.

No, it wasn't that he disliked her. What he did dislike, however, was the wizard meddling, telling him that without one little girl lost and out of her element(no matter how fast she was adapting to it)that the entire quest was lost. He didn't like that the wizard seemed to be keeping secrets from him, possibly secrets about her, as he had when first making him agree to take another member on after the hobbit. The hobbit definitely didn't belong, with his soft honey-blonde curls, his naivety about everything, lack of fighting skills, big brown eyes...nope, not thinking about that!

He didn't like that she seemed to defy him quite a bit as well, not seeming to grasp he was a king, and her company leader. He didn't like that her mind would be split between the quest and trying to find a way home, instead of wholly on the quest. He didn't like that Gandalf had seemed to take control of the quest out of his hands by placing two unknowns in the company, and Thorin really didn't like surprises.

But the main reason he was upset was that all his life he had been taught that women were supposed to be protected, kept from harm, and treasured, no matter what race, even the female warriors. For every 3 male dwarrows born, one female is as well, meaning that in their society the one thing treasured more than gold was in fact the women and children. The women who did travel would usually dress as a man, or stay hidden within a hood with one or two guards beside them just in case. Harming a female was the greatest crime you could commit in the mountains, other than murder, one punishable by death, usually by the male family members of the female harmed, unless a more terrible punishment could be thought of by the female herself.

This alone irked him, as not only did he had a female in his company, she was not hiding herself, or disguising herself. It irked him that Gandalf didn't seem to think it a big deal, knowing how big a deal it was to him and his people.

It didn't matter that she seemed to have a great deal of common sense. Hell, the hobbit had gotten into more trouble than she had, already endangering the company once with the trolls, and again as they were making their way up the battling mountains, almost falling off the ledge if Thorin hadn't caught him!

No, he was afraid that if something did happen to her on the quest, most of the company would believe it their fault, that they should have protected her better, and would fall into a slump, endangering the quest, and their lives. That was the main reason he kept telling her to stay back, or to not go alone anywhere, no matter how angry at him it made her. He couldn't afford to let his emotions show, not about her, not about the hobbit...lest he lose focus on the main goal.

No, he didn't hate the girl. In his brooding, troubled, emotionally constipated way, he was protecting her.

Now if only he could figure out his feelings about the burglar...  
*******************************

Dori, Nori and Ori liked her very much.

Dori and her would talk while traveling at great lengths about tea, sometimes with Balin by their side. Cricket had worked at a Farmers market in her hometown on the weekends, helping her friend sell herbs she had grown in her greenhouse, and actually knew a fair amount about the subject. She even had a few dried herbs packed away in her emergency kit, as she had added things to it on and off for a while before she had come to middle-earth. She had dried sage, as well as chocolate mint, oregano, lemon balm, bee balm and apple mint, part of which made excellent teas if brewed. Dori enjoyed the sage, and Balin had liked the apple mint, and both promised to take her to a real tea shop once the quest was over and if she was still here(not to mention the unspoken if they survived).

Ori enjoyed talking to her about her world, and would eagerly take down everything she had written in his book. Mostly he would ask questions and she would answer them, such as how they courted in her world, if there were kings and queens, if there were any great wars, how the checks and balances thing worked in politics, and often about comic books, which Fili and Kili had gotten him hooked on after that first night at Bilbo's, and they would actually listen in most of them time as she told him about different ones. Oris favorite was the Hulk, as he enjoyed the idea of someone so mild-mannered being able to turn so completely into a different person when angered, making Cricket wonder what it would be like if he ever got angry. On a side note, Fili's favorite was Batman, Kili's was, of course, Hawkeye, while Bofurs was Deadpool(she had to explain the whole idea of cancer, and why he had the lesions all over his body, but it was mainly his humour that attracted Bofur).

She would also at times just go on rants about different things to him, like the massive libraries there were, what a rock concert was, and what exactly fanfiction was. That, in retrospect may have been a bad thing, as she then had to explain shipping, and headcannons, and that went on to explaining Tumblr and Gifs. He would listen to everything eagerly, however, and took everything down to go back over later and try to understand better.

Nori wasn't as much eager about learning of her world, though he was telling her a bit about the finer points of sneaky battle, and how she should go for certain pressure points of the body if in a jam. He also was teaching her how to stay unnoticed and to walk silently, to make a quick getaway if needed, and what areas to nick to get the most blood loss from. She had to stop him at learning to pickpocket, however, and he just smiled at her and told her to let him know if she changed her mind. He did however want to know a bit more about crime in her world, and would shake his head and laugh as she told him about some of the more stupid criminals she knew about, such as one who had been upstairs breaking into a jewelry box while the owners were home, and had laughed when the man told his wife a joke. He in turn told her stories of some of his exploits, and seemed surprised when she didn't judge him for stealing to try to keep his brothers fed, no matter how much Dori disliked it. No, she in fact thought it made him a very loving brother, willing to go to such lengths to keep his family fed. And if he still did it now and again...well who was he hurting? It wasn't as if he was stealing from people who couldn't afford to be robbed,

Yes, the Ri brothers liked Cricket.  
***********

Oin and Gloin were iffy about her.

Oin, as the resident healer, was a bit of a grump as it was, and most of the time couldn't hear as his trumpet was a bit squished, or not in his ear. That, and Cricket hadn't really been hurt since on the trip so far, other than the occasional cut or bruise from training, so he didn't see her that often other than at the fire for dinner. Being an older dwarf he was of the same mind about a woman being on the trip as Thorin, though he didn't voice it, not wanting to override Thorin's decision. The fact that he had a hard time hearing made it so he didn't hear most of her stories, though he did see a couple of pictures he wondered about, but she always seemed to be busy when he was of a mind to ask.

Gloin didn't think she was that bad, but he was constantly talking about his own family , so never really had a chance to be able to listen to her. She did sit down and listen to him a couple of times to learn about his wife and son, which put her up a bit in his book, but other than that he didn't really have much invested in her. She was convinced if he had been in her world, he would be the kind of person who had a wallet full of pictures of his family he would show to you every time he saw you, no matter how many times he had actually already showed them to you. If he would actually take to time to actually listen to her for a change, he might of had a better opinion, but for now, he was of the same opinion of his brother about her.  
*********

Bifur, Bombur and Bofur were extremely fond of Cricket.

Bifur had never met anyone so willing the delve into Iglishmek, simply for the reason of being able to talk to him, and when she had learned, he had taken every chance he could to fine tune it and learn more about her. It was refreshing, talking to someone not one of his cousins, who didn't think he was a head case simply because he had the stupid axe still imbedded in him. Sure, it had frazzled him a bit, bit he could still think straight, and do everyday tasks without help, was still a competent fighter, and could still make wonderful toys with Bofur, and that was what mattered. Cricket told him that back home there were several people who couldn't talk at all, and there was a whole hand language they had, much like Iglishmek, and she wished she could tell him more about it.

Still, the fact that she had learned for him put her high in his affections, and he was almost, if not more, protective of her as the young princes. They would talk every night about all sorts of things, though his favorite thing to discuss were fairy tales. He enjoyed Beauty and the Beast a lot, as well as Pinocchio, and she knew several different versions of all of them that she told, as all the different parts of her world seemed to have their own way of telling them. They were finally at the point that they didn't need Bofur to translate anymore, and as they left Rivendale he was actually teaching her a couple of words in Khudzul, with only Nori noticing and grinning, throwing in some of his own as well, determined to turn her into an honorary dwarf. They were both convinced that if they were going to be her adopted brothers, she should be allowed to learn the language, even if it was mainly curse words at the moment.

Bombur had been ecstatic when he learned that Cricket had a wealth of cooking information from her world she was willing to share with him, and every night they would discuss it while making dinner. They started on the different ways you could do potatoes, stuffing them, filling them with soups and stews, scambled-egg filled..his favorite was when she described what macaroni and cheese was and how to make it, before stuffing a hollowed out potato with it and baking it again, covered with bacon bits and yet more cheese. They also discussed different flavors of pancakes, how to make muffins without eggs or oil, how to make a cake with 40 layers, each layer thinner than a pancake...it was wonderful.

She also had some ideas on how to help keep some of their food last longer without salting it, and they were both planning on talking to Gandalf about working on a box he could put a spell on to keep things cold when placed inside, that way they wouldn't spoil. They were already planning a massive feast along with Bilbo for when they reclaimed Erebor, all three of them working together to create a meal the likes they had never seen, fit to fill the stomach of even the most round hobbit. It would be filled full of mushrooms, pie, cakes, potatoes of all kinds, roast meats, wonderfully flavored breads and butters, and so much more. And that wasn't even covering the drinks she was planning to recreate from her world, both alcoholic and non. After all, whats the use of wonderful food if you don't have something to wash it down with?

Bofur obviously liked her a lot, as much time as he spent joking with her, sharing his pony when they traveled(before the troll incident of course), and basically just enjoying her company on the road. She had a wit to match his, and didn't freak out when he made dirty jokes, though most of the other company would knock him upside the head when he did, while she would just roll her eyes. Besides that, she had made time to learn to communicate with his cousin, when most others would just assume he was feeble-minded from the axe and talk to Bofur like he couldn't hear. That alone, like Bifur, put her high in his affections, though sometimes even he wasn't sure if was joking about courting her someday or not.

He thought that she seemed to have a low opinion of herself when it came to that area, especially after the talk they had while still in the Shire. That, and every so often he would notice she would just look sad when she thought no one else was looking, like in the cave they were staying in at the top of the mountain. That could have to do with the way that Thorin had accused Bilbo of being lost since he had started this journey, though, since she had glared at him as soon as she had entered the cave and walked over to Bilbo, sitting next to him and speaking to him in a low voice. She was was always checking on members of the company, making sure they had enough to eat that night, or talking to them if they looked sad, sometimes just listening to them, knowing a friendly ear was all that was needed.

She had habit of putting others before herself, he realized, and was determined to try to make her think about herself a bit more if she ended up stuck here. That was why he did end up joking with her so often, he wanted to see her smile more, and the princes helped a lot in that aspect. He thought she was good-looking for a human, as well, and after a while he decided that even if he didn't end up courting her, he would be a very good friend to her, and would break the legs of anyone who broke her heart.

Yes, they were very protective of Cricket.

Dwalin and Balin obviously liked her.

Dwalin liked anyone willing to learn to fight, and the fact that she had natural talent made it all the better for him. While he agreed with the women should be protected thing, a woman willing to protect herself was someone he thought should be respected, and he was very willing to help her with her goal. She was progressing with the short-swords very well. especially now that Fili was helping train her as well, and could fling a knife and hit the mark almost every time. It was a shame he hadn't managed to get a hold of a well-made staff for her yet, as he would like to see what she could do with it as well, but for now he was content with her mastering what she had already. He was also surprised when she told him she had tattoos of her own, showing him one on her wrist, along with two on her back, along the shoulder blades. That turned into a discussion about all of his tattoos, and what they meant, which was a night long talk. He had even convinced her that once the quest was over she should let him give her a tattoo himself, a warriors brand to mark what she had done, and she said as long as she saw it and where it was going before hand, it was a deal.

Balin had liked her from the moment she had talked with him at Bag-End about the contract and the quest, and would often be caught in the middle of a discussion with her and Dori about tea, and was excited to show her how tea was done where he was from. He also enjoyed looking at pictures of her family with her, remarking at how tall her nephew was, or how much like her mother she looked. Balin was also the one she had the deepest conversations with, what she was afraid of being here, what she had dealt with back home in order to make sure she could pay bills and keep a roof over her head, her sadness sometimes at not being able to have started a family yet...she had a lot more on her plate than anyone else in the company knew about, and though it wasn't his place to spill her secrets, he vowed that if Thorin said one wrong thing to her they were going to sit down and have a little chat.

Yes, Dwalin and Balin thought very highly of her.  
*****************

Fili and Kili were her steadfast friends, companions and protectors on the quest, and no one would question their feelings for her.

Kili was at first saddened that he couldn't teach her to shoot a bow, but she never belittled him for learning and being good at it himself, saying anyone who did so was an idiot, and that Bowman are the first line of defense, and sometimes the best, being able to take out enemies from such long distances, being able to stay up high and pinpoint certain ones in a battle...and out now, how he could make sure they stayed fed by going hunting and bringing back game. She even enthralled him with stories from her world of famous archers, such as Hawkeye, Robin hood, the Green Arrow, even a female one named Katniss. He had never heard of famous archers in the middle-earth, so it was quite a treat for him learn of ones from her world that were so renowned.

She also reminded him of his mother sometimes, as she was a warrior, very protective of her family, and seemed to enjoy egging Thorin on, much as his mother did. He had mentioned it to Fili at one point, and he had blanched and looked over at her, shaking his head and saying she looked nothing like Dis. Other than that he loved listening to music with her, watching the strange movies on her tablet, helping her train, joking with her about whether or not his uncle and Bilbo would ever end up shagging or not...he very much thought of her as an actual sister, and would protect her like one. After all, he was about 50 years older than her, no matter how human aging actually worked.

Fili...Fili was starting to not think of her as a sister as much as Kili.

Ever since training with her, and the dinner at Rivendale, he had begun seeing her in a different light, and it confused him a bit. Obviously he couldn't be attracted to her, not as a Prince of Erebor, and when she still planned on getting back home. As Thorin's heir, he was supposed to take over after Thorin, marry and have kids to continue the Durin line. He wasn't sure how anyone would react to him trying to court a human from another world. Not only that but there was the age difference to think of as well, he wasn't sure how many years she would have left compared to him. Could they even have children? Not that he was thinking about having children with her, or even about the act that would go about creating children...

Other than those confused feelings, he was of the same mind as his brother, that she had excellent music from her world, and would often ask to borrow her tablet to read some of the books from her world. He was very much like his uncle, simply ignoring a problem like this, expecting it to go away. He didn't at all think she reminded him of his mother, only that she had a bad habit of egging his uncle on, or dismissing certain orders with a flick of the wrist or hair. He really wanted to braid her hair.

No, he didn't want to braid her hair, that was considered a very intimate thing in dwarrow culture, and you only did it to family members, someone you were courting or wanting to court, or those already married.

He was pretty sure that Thorin wanted to braid Bilbo's hair though, as it seem every time he caught his uncle staring it was at Bilbo's curly lock, and his fingers almost seemed to twitch. That was a strange thing to imagine, and he planned on talking to Cricket and Kili about what they thought, and maybe trying to push the two into action, as they obviously weren't going anywhere at the pace they were going.

Fili and Kili loved Cricket very much, though their ways of thinking of her were starting to differ.  
*******

Bilbo liked Cricket, though he thought she was very strange for a woman, and wouldn't at all be considered proper back in the Shire, though at this point his reputation was probably being tarnished as well, going on, shudder, an adventure. Not only that, but an adventure with 13 dwarves, a wizard, and a human from another world. One dwarf who he couldn't seem to get off his mind, no matter how broody, or angry, or silent he was. No matter how blue his eyes were, or how intense his stare was, or how well he swung his sword...

Nope, no matter any of that stuff. And after tonight's explosion at him, Bilbo was seriously considering trekking back to Rivendale and asking for an escort back to the Shire. He wasn't for this type of thing, and didn't have to put up with some dark, handsome dwarf yelling at him and telling him he never should have come in the first place.  
************************

Gandalf liked Cricket, and everyone else as well, and was seriously enjoying watching the relationships blossom between her and most of the members of the company. Though he didn't know how she was to make a difference, he could certainly see one that was already being made in the group, that she seemed to almost be bringing all of them closer together. His eyes would twinkle as he watched her interact with everyone, and he had already started guessing about who she would be closest to in the end, other than the young princes of course. He was also very curious about the satchel she now kept around her shoulders, and wondered if it had to do with the spell that Lady Corasont had him place on all of her new clothes. He planned on asking her eventually, but for now would see if it would come out of her own accord.

He also quite enjoyed the sexual tension between Bilbo and Thorin, and planned on pushing it forward.

As Thorin would say, stupid meddling wizard.

_Let me know who you would like to see her pair with, not limited to people we have already met in the story._


	9. Goblins

_Warning, Thorin feels and refrences to non-con_

_I dont own the hobbit, but I do like birds._

Cricket wakes from her half-assed sleep to the sound of Bilbo and Bofur talking quietly in the mouth of the cave they had taken shelter in. After the treacherous walk up the mountain, dodging rocks being thrown by stone giants and being separated at one point by a stone giants knees, they had just by chance found the cave after Thorin had been a dickbag again. Once in she had went over to Bilbos side to try to talk to him, to calm him down, for about 30 minutes, seeing as he had nearly fallen to his death and was a little shaken up. Not only that, but Thorins words had really hurt him once he had been pulled up, and when she wasn't looking at Bilbo she was glaring at Thorins back.

After finally sending him off to sleep she seethed a bit where she was, before sighing and getting ready for a quick escape if needed, considering where they were, and that she had already nearly lost her stuff once when Bofur grabbed her and hauled her back, making sure she didn't fall when the mountain separated. It was her only connection to home, and she would be damned if she lost it.

She first slips the satchel back on over her jacket, then puts her backpack on over that, securing the snaps in the front to keep it on her person if they end up needing to leave quickly. She then moves to a part of the wall near Nori and Bofur and backs up against it, leaning back and closing her eyes.

When she opens them back up time has obviously passed, as Bilbo is up and about with all his stuff arguing with Bofur.

"You're dwarves, you're used to all this moving around and not belonging anywhere!" Cricket winces at his lack of tact and sits up straight, and Bilbo seems to realize what he said at his face once he says also notices Thorin is awake and listening in, a pained look on his face.

"You're right." says Bofur, actually looking sad for the first time since she had met him."I wish you all the luck in the world." As he goes to turn back to the cave he notices a blue light coming from Bilbos small elvish blade. "Whats that?"

Bilbo looks at what Bofur is pointing at and slowly unsheathes his sword, which is glowing with a bright blue light. She takes a look at it and jumps to her feet. "Everyone wake up now!" Thorin is also at his feet yelling to the group, but its in vain as before the rest can do so a crack opens in the pit of the floor, swallowing them all down into the ground They tumble down a long chute for quite some time before landing in an area with bars behind them so they can't escape, a rickety wooden bridge in front of them, and grotesque creatures running towards them. As they come up and grab them she notices Bilbo low on the ground with his hands over his head, before Nori grabs her and pushes her between himself, Bifur and Bofur, being the closest to her when landing and wanting to keep her out of sight as long as possible.

"Just stay close to us and as low as you can." he whispers to her as they are pushed along."The last thing we need is them paying attention to you."

"Why?" she whispers back at him.

"Lets just say the only type of prisoner they ever take is female."He says, glancing at her with barely disguised worry in his eyes. When she finally catches on she pales and nods, not wanting to risk them hearing her. The others simply crowd in closer to her, both Bifur and Bofur grabbing a hand at one point and squeezing it to make sure she is still there. Nori tries to as well, but his hand actually ends up on her ass instead and she has to keep an eep in, knowing it was totally by accident. Probably.

They push them all to a platform with a throne on it, where what had to be the leader was spinning around and singing something about being "down in the depths of Goblin town", all the goblins watching cheering and looking on. He is gigantic, both in height and weight, with pasty white skin, whats looks like boils all over one side of his body, and a double chin that reaches halfway down his stomach. Cricket takes one look at him and shrinks down as far as she can behind Bifur.

"What do we have here? Assassins? Thieves?" He yells as he notices them there and sits down, squashing some of his subjects with his feet.

"Dwarves, your malevolence."

"Dwarves huh? Such a long way from home..sorry, no home, I forgot." As he laughs the entire cave laughs with him, the sound bouncing off the walls. When the goblins starts to poke and prod and take stuff from them, Thorin steps forward.

"Stop!"

The Goblin King takes a look at him and smiles widely."Well well well, if it isn't Thorin, son of Thrain, King under the Mountain! Only, you don't have a mountain, do you, which makes you...nothing, I suppose." Thorins merely glares at him, his go to move for anything it seems, and the king peers down closer."I know someone who would pay a pretty penny for your head. Just the head, nothing else attached. Perhaps you know who I speak of, an old enemy? A pale orc, riding a white warg?"

"Azog the Defiler was killed long ago." Thorin said staring at him. The Goblin king merely smirks and talks to a small goblin on a pulley system, sending him off into the depths."There, now he will know you are here. We can kill the rest. Except..." he pauses and seems to consider."Why don't we take the one in the middle out of hiding?" Cricket gasps but keeps quiet as the goblins jerk her out of the middle of the group and drag her in front of the king, the rest of the group struggling to get free.

She is thrown in front of the grotesque giant and looks up at him, trying not to look as scared as she felt."Now look at this, a little human girl! What good would traveling with a bunch of dirty, short, cowardly dwarves be for you, huh?" He leers at before glancing at the rest of the group for a second."Perhaps as a bed warmer for their travels, a trollop to keep away the long lonely nights? Tell me, how many night have you spent on the King Under the Mountains bedroll?"

Bifur growls and struggles harder against his captors as Thorin gives the Goblin king a death stare, not looking at Cricket at all. She feels her anger bursting to the surface at his words and talks back before she can tell her brain its a bad idea."You shut your mouth, you Pillsbury dough-boy reject! These dwarves are some of the most honorable people I have ever met, and I'm no ones trollop, you got that!"

"Ah, and she has spirit as well! I was going to save you for myself, it has been a long time since I have dabbled with man-flesh." he says, grinning evilly at her."But now I think you might be a worthwhile gift beside his head, he does so love the fighters, and what a fitting way to celebrate receiving an enemy's head with a bit of..defiling?"

She pales and tries to back up, only to be stopped by the goblins behind her."Over my dead body you perverted asshole!"

"I'm afraid not my dear, he prefers his gifts still wiggling in cases like you. Bring her closer, I want a better look at her." They haul her up to him and he puts his face right up to hers, letting her smell his rotted breath."Perhaps Azog wouldn't mind if I help myself a bit first, however."

At that she decides enough was enough, luckily at the same time Gandalf showed up, and elbows one of her goblin captors in the stomach, stomping the foot of the other and pulling out her short-sword, stabbing the bloated king in a random area of fat, causing him to howl in pain. She hears Gandalf yelling for the others to take up arms behind her and turns around towards them, keeping her sword in hand, and her training with Dwalin pops to the surface, finally coming to good use.

They all battle their way through the mountain and the maze of rickety bridges, Dwalin swinging away with the hammer she had given him, Kili and Fili fighting alongside her, swinging and slashing and stabbing everything that looked like a goblin that came near. At one point they picked up a ladder and swung it around, knocking any goblin that came close down into the depths of the mountain, like flies with a swatter. At one point the Goblin King smashes through the bridge in front of them, yelling at Gandalf, who simply cuts his across his stomach with his sword the Foehammer, causing him to fall to the ground, and cracks to appear in the bridge they are standing on.

As all the dwarves move onto the section of the bridge, preparing to cut the ropes and send it down the mountain with them on it, she feels something grip her ponytail and yank her back, causing her to shriek in pain. Fili and Kili notice her first and grab her feet, trying to haul her back, but the dying King has a strong hold on her hair and pulls back, causing the rest of the company to grab onto her as well."Let me go you bastard!" She screams.

"You aren't getting away from me you little slut" he growls, blood pouring from his mouth.

"Someone just cut my ponytail, the bastard won't let go!" She yells at the dwarves.

"We can't cut your hair!" Kili gasps." Its a major sign of disrespect and dishonor to cut someones hair!We can do this, just pull harder! We won't let you go!"

"Right now I couldn't give a damn about the honor my hair brings me, it's either my life or my hair, and I choose life! The fucking hair can grow back!"

Nori looks at her face and sees that she is being serious, so he jumps towards her and slices at the base, cutting her hair and the hold that is one her. He quickly helps her up and haul her to the middle of the bridge, where Thorin then promptly cuts the rope holding it and they go smashing to the bottom of the mountain, holding on to one another for stability. Once they hit the ground the wood smashes into pieces and they all roll off quickly, just missing being smashed by a dead Goblin Kings body. They then start running towards the light they see at the base, not stopping til they hit daylight in a woody area.

only then do they finally stop for breath, gasping for air as they try to slow their heart rates after the fight for their lives. Cricket is finally starting to calm down when she feels a strong hand clasping her shoulder and spinning her around into a sweaty hug."That was one of the most fool-hardy stunts I have ever seen."Dwalin says when he lets her out of it and looks down proudly at her."I know warriors with years of training with less balls than you."

She smiles tiredly at him."Well, I sure wasn't going to let that creep touch me. He looked like bread dough gone wrong.I probably caught something from his breath alone."

"And that exactly the right way to go, no woman should be left in a goblins hands. I'm proud of you lass."

"Thanks Dwalin, coming from you than means a lot." Before Dwalin can say anything else two bodies throw themselves against her, squashing her between them, hugging her tightly. "I thought we were going to lose you for a minute there!" said Kili nearly crying with relief.

"Yea, we were scared to death!" said Fili on the other side.

"That white creep wouldn't let go of you!"

"Please, I knew you two wouldn't let them have me! You are kinda squishing my lungs though..."

"Yea, too bad about your hair though."

"It's really short. And it falls all over your face."

She runs her fingers through her now short locks when they let her go and sighs."Yea, but its worth it to not be dead, or in his hands. Least I am used to having short hair."

"Well I think it suits ya." said Dwalin grinning. "Hair can just get in the way when fighting."

"This coming from the one who used to have a mohawk."

"Kili, remind me next time we spar to go one on one with you for a proper pummeling." Dwalin says growling at the grinning prince, who immedietly has a look of horror on his face while Fili laughs.

"You too blondie."

Before either can say anything they hear Gandalf yell."Where is Bilbo? Where is out burglar?"

"Last time I saw him he was slipping away in the goblin caves." Nori says to him, while the rest look around worriedly.

"Mr. Baggins saw a chance to go home and took it."Thorins said with a deep frown on his face. Seriously, doesn't he have any other look? "He has thought of nothing else since he started this quest. We will not be seeing him again, he is long gone."

"No, he isn't." The hobbit steps out from behind a tree, clasping a smiling Balin on the shoulder, and Cricket steps up to give him a tight hug. Gandalf looks relieved but concerned, and Thorin has a dark and curious look on his face.

"How did you escape?"

Everyone goes quiet as Bilbo and Thorin stare at each other. Bilbo stutters a bit before Gandalf rescues him."What does it matter, he's back!"

"It matters, I want to know." Thorin says, stepping closer to the nervous hobbit."Why did you come back?" he asks softly.

"Bilbo looks him in the eye and straightens up."Look, I know you doubt me, you always have, the same as you do poor Cricket. And you're right, I do often think of Bag End, the same way I'm sure she does of her own home. We are both in a strange place, out of our element."

Crickets face falls a bit at his words, and she feels a warm hand on her shoulder. Looking over she sees Bofur, smiling at her, and he squeezes it reassuringly.

"I miss my books. And my armchair, and my garden. See, thats where I belong, thats home. Thats why I came back, because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can."

Thorin stares at Bilbo with several different emotions on his face, and Cricket is sure if it wasn't for everyone else he would have kissed the hobbit then and there. The rest of the dwarves lood sadly at the ground, while Gandalf looks on proudly at the little hobbit.

As Thorin begins to speak a howl cuts through the air and stops him. Everyone looks around in horror as the recognize the sound, and Thorin groans."Out of the frying pan.."

"And into the fire. Run!" Gandalf yells, and they all race once more through the woods, being chased by the wargs and their riders. They stop when they make it to the end of a cliff, and seeing nowhere else to go all climb into the trees, Dori Swinging Cricket and Bilbo onto a branch close to him. Cricket thinks to herself how glad she is that she tightly secured he backpack to her as she sees the Orcs come through the trees towards them.

The next few minutes are a blur, full of fire and angry wargs and falling trees, ending up with all of the dwarves on one tree and Thorin running towards the pale orc Azog, only to be knocked over by him, and Azog sends an orc to take his head as Thorin watches, half unconscious. The next thing she knows Bilbo is running towards Thorin, sword in hand, and she is running after him. Bilbo strikes a warg down with his small blade and stands in front of Thorin, defending him, as Cricket makes it to him and stands next to him, her own blade drawn as well, nervously staring down the surprised orc.

"What are you doing?" Hisses Bilbo to her.

"The same thing you are, being stupid and jumping in front of a bunch of big ugly orcs to defend our company leader. Probably not for the same reason, mind you, but her, whatever floats your boat. Don't look at me like that, I ramble when I'm nervous, you should have seen me the first time I gave blood."

Azog stares at her and licks his lip, causing her to shudder with distaste, and says something in a gutteral language, only making out a gru before he starts walking towards them, almost stalking. She steps in front of Bilbo and stares him down, ignoring the evilly amused look on his face as she holds out her sword in front of her, Bilbo guarding over Thorins now prone body.

"Get away from them!"

"You won't be touching her today you abomination!"

"She isn't your new toy so back off, and you aren't getting Thorins head!"

Looking over she sees all the dwarves not hanging on to a tree for dear life running towards them, weapons drawn, angry looks on their faces. A fiery pine cone explodes in Azogs face and he recoiled, momentarily blinded and giving Bilbo and her a chance to regroup. However, just as she looks up to see the smirking face of the pale orc, she feels something like claws grip her shoulders and lift her up into the air as she yelps in surprise, along with Bilbo, by...two eagles?

Yep, two giant, freaking eagles.

"The eagle carrying her lowers her onto the back of another, and as she looks around she sees the rest of the company being gripped as well, except for Gandalf and Bilbo, who are riding astride as she is. Once they have everyone, having to catch a couple of dwarves who fell from the tree, the eagles turn away from the Misty Mountains, all their riders hanging on for dear life where they can except for Gandalf, who looks extremely relieved.

"Gandalf, no that I don't appreciate the rescue, but they are on our side, correct?" Balin asks Gandalf as Cricket sees Bilbo gripping onto his eagle like he is going to fall off at any point, burying his head into the eagles neck.

"Og course Master Balin! The Lord of the Eagles himself noticed our peril, and called on his kin to swoop down and save us from those wretched orcs!

"Well, I for one an pretty damn grateful."Cricket says as they soar through the sky, a smile on her face."Plus its not every day you get to fly, and I gotta say I like it."

"You seem to be taking to it better than your companions." sways a raspy voice from beneath her. "And there is nothing finer than flying, some just can't get used to it."

"Are you...talking to me?" Cricket says looking at her rescuer."I know I shouldn't be surprised by anything at this point, but it's still hard to adapt to."

"I suppose it would be to one not used to us. We don't interact with Man that often, as they try to shoot us down."

"I'm very sorry, I wouldn't want to be around someone trying to shoot me either. My names Cricket, thank you for the rescue. I'm pretty sure we would all be dead now if you hadn't come along."

"Alas, you are right except for on one count, as you would only wish you were dead if left with the orcs and goblins. We were very glad to intervene in their sport, and Gandalf is a friend of ours as well, as he has come to our air several times to mend us. I am the Lord of the Eagles, soon to be King Of the Birds."

"Oh wow, um, a pleasure to meet you, your Highness. I have always dreamt of being able to fly, and this is everything I thought that it would be, except for all the things trying to murder us."She feels him chuckling beneath her and manages a bigger smile of her own.:So where are you taking us?"

"The Carrock. It is far enough away that is will take the orcs quite some time to catch up, and far enough to stay away from Man as well. It is coming up now."

She looks up to see a tall rock rising up before them, the surface just right to drop them off and check on the injured Thorin. As they come to a landing to drop off their parcels, most of the dwarves simply tumble to the ground as the eagle carrying them flies off. The Lord of the Eagles and the eagle carrying Gandalf however land gracefully, allowing their passengers to climb slowly down.

As soon as her feet touches the ground she turns to her rescuer with a smile. "Thank you for a once in a lifetime experience, and again for the rescue." She gives him a small curtsy as Gandalf looks on amused, smiling at them.

The lords cocks his head to the side looking at her at mild surprise. "Such respect you show me, it is all but unheard of from a daughter of Man." He then turns his beak to his and gently pulls a feather out, offering it to her as she hears Gandalf make a small noise behind her."A gift for you, for showing me there is still hope for the Race of Men. Any creäture that sees you with this feather will recognize you as a friend to the Eagles, and if you blow on it, one of us will come to you."With that he bows his head at her and Gandalf and flies off.

"You seem to be making friends everywhere you go lass." Bofur says to her as she walks up to the group surrounding Thorins, Oin checking him over frantically."A nice little keepsake you have there."

"I'm just being polite, using manners, that sort of thing. You would think they never see it here." She examines the gold and brown feather in her hand, marveling at how soft it is."Though as much as they say people are shooting at them I guess they don't."

"Well, whatever you're doing, keep doing it. The way the journey's going so far, we could use all the friends we can get." He grins tiredly at her."Love the hair by the way. It could be touched up a bit though."

"I don't doubt it they way he sliced it off. Guess I will have to wait til I can look in a mirror to see."

"What, don't trust my word on it?"

"Trust advice on hair from a guy with two messy, upturned braids under a hat with wings? No thanks"

He clutches his chest in fake heartache."Just something to hold on to." He says winking at her. Before she can reply they hear a rustle from the middle of the group, and looks over to see Thorin groggily standing up.

"The hobbit?" he asks weakly.

"Its all right, Bilbo is safe." Gandalf tells him reassuringly."He's quite safe."

Thorins stands shakily up and looks at the hobbit."You! What were you doing?"

When Bilbo looks around in confusion he continues."You nearly got you and the girl killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden?" With each word he got closer to Bilbo, who was nervously shuffling backwards."That you would not survive in the wild? That you would have no place among us? Niether you or the girl?" He looks at Cricket when he says this, and she stares back defiantly at him, not willing to deal with his shit. She is shocked, however, when a relieved look comes to his face.

"I have never been so wrong in my life." With that he surges forward and hugs a very bewildered Bilbo, causing the rest of the company to cheer. Cricket notices that Thorin seems to be trying to keep himself from smelling the hobbits hair and smiles to herself, thinking there may be hope for them after all. When they break the hug Bilbo looks flustered and his face is red, a big smile on Thorins face."I am sorry I doubted you."

"No, I would have doubted me too. I'm not a hero, a warrior, or even a burglar." The last part he directs at Gandalf, who merely smiles at him.

Thorin then turns to Cricket, walking over and holding his hand out to her. She lifts an eyebrow and takes it after a second for a handshake, only to be pulled in for a hug as well. When he breaks the hug with her he looks in the eyes."I am sorry for being so cold to you. I was worried we would end up rescuing you at every turn,more so than the hobbit, and that if I didn't get attached it might not hurt as bad if something did happen. It turns out you are pretty good at rescuing yourself, as well as us. I thank you." He then smiles at her."You remind me of my sister, Dis. She is a fighter as well, and loves egging me on when I'm being an idiot. I dread the two of you ever meeting."

"She sounds like an amazing woman, especially if she put up with all three of you for so long. Can't wait to meet her, maybe get some tips."

"May I come to one of your training sessions soon? I would like to see your progress with Dwalin and my nephew."

"Sure, but only if you promise me a spar."

"Deal." He then looks over her shoulder and he face takes on a look of awe.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asks following his gaze.

"Erebor. The lonely mountain, last of the great dwarf kingdoms of middle-earth" Gandalf tells him as the rest of the company gathers round to look.

"Our home." Thorin says softly, looking on proudly, Bilbo glancing at him and blushing.

"Look, the birds are returning to the mountain!" Oin says pointing.

"That, my dear Master Oin, is a thrush." Gandalf says in good spirits.

"I will take it as a sign, a good omen." Thorins says looking at Bilbo happily.

"Your right. I do believe the worst is behind us."

Cricket facepalms when she hears Bilbo say this, Bofur looking at her starngely."Whats wrong?"

She looks at him with a pained look on her face."I really wish he hadn't said that."

"Why not?"

"Because every time someone says that, its like inviting the gods to bring it on, and bad things start happening again, its horrible luck."

"Are you superstitious then?" he asks teasingly.

"Back home, no. Here, where everything is trying to kill me or do things to me? Yes, you better believe it."

He just shakes his head at her and looks back at the mountain with his brother. Cricket sighs and puts the feather in her satchel, then looks towards their leader.

Thorin and Bilbo are standing right next to each other, so close their hands are nearly touching. When they do briefly Bilbo starts and looks at them, blushing, but doesn't move his. Thorin simply gets a slight blush to his cheeks, but the glint in his eyes tells of something more, not wholly because of the sight of the mountain.

Cricket grins, wondering if she should mention it to anyone else to see if they have noticed as well, when she heres Bofur yell out"So, how exactly do we get off this blasted rock?"

Leave it to Bofur to ask the important questions.

_I realize i am changing things, but its my story, and if I want to take a bit from both the book and the movie...oh well. Yay for a weirdly happy Thorin! And coming up,Beorn! _


	10. Perverts

_Warning. Dumb males ahead. I own the first appearence of deadpool, but not the hobbit._

"He's a what?"

"A skin-changer my dear hobbit."

"What, you mean like a furrier, a man who skins rabbits and other animals?"

Gandalf looks at Bilbo in horror. "No, and for your own sake don't mention anything like that around him!"

"Ok." Cricket says, interrupting the wizard. "Then would you mind explaining what you mean, for those of us just as confused as Bilbo?"

"Of course. A skin-changer is someone who can turn into something else, change their skin, and in Beorns case, a bear. A very large, black bear, who has a great house in the middle of the forest filled with animals he can communicate with. When he is not a bear he is a very large, hairy, black-haired man, with huge arms and a great beard. I cannot tell you more than that, as he is not a kind of man to ask questions of."

Thorin looks at the wizard, eyebrow raised questioningly. "And why, pray tell, are we going to this skin-changers home? Can we not just pass through the forest and go along out way?"

"Because, Thorin, we are short on supplies, we all need to go somewhere we can rest safely, and there is a chance he will lend us some of his ponies if we appeal to him. In fact, we must be very careful when meeting him, as when he is angry he can be appalling, though if humoured he can be quite kind. We will go in by twos, with Bilbo and I going first, and probably Bombur and Bifur last. You will need to wait 5 minutes before letting each group of two start in, to allow me time to introduce you and warm him to the idea of us staying."

"Couldn't we stay with someone with a better temper?" Bilbo asks as he fidgets nervously, hand in waistcoat pocket.

"Not at all Mr. Baggins, there is no one closer, and there will be no place safer."

"If you say so."

"I do. Now let us be off, we don't want to be caught out when the dark comes."

The company followed Gandalf down the rocks and through the hills, noticing by the afternoon that the fields were turning more to grass and flowers, with bees as big as Bilbos head buzzing around. The dwarves are understandably confused by the size of them, stepping carefully to avoid getting in the path of one. Cricket sticks around the back of the group, watching the bees more in fascination than anything, having become more accustomed to seeing strange things and not questioning them anymore, and even snaps a picture with her phone of one of them. Nori notices her snapping a pictures and slows down, letting her catch up with him and walking beside her.

"What are you doing?"

She sticks her phone in her satchel and looks at him."Taking a picture so if I ever get home, I can look at them and remember all of this actually happened. Once we get to this skin-changer friend of Gandalfs house, I want a picture of the entire group."

"What, do you not think you will remember when you get back?"

"I don't know what will happen if I get back, but if I do, I want to have a proof of the awesome things here, so I can always remember the good times, and people."

"We are pretty awesome." He says grinning at her.

"Yea, and cocky as hell, every one of you." She says smiling back."Speaking of which...did you mean to grab my ass in the goblin caves? Pretty sure you were the only one right behind me, and since the goblins didn't know I was there yet.."

"I was falling?"

"Nope."

"You were falling?"

"Really?"

"I thought it was your shoulder?"

"Im taller than you! Barely, but still!"

"Would you believe me if I said my hands like to be where they shouldn't be?"

"Now that, yes, I would believe. But really, we were surrounded by goblins and you decide to cop a feel?" She stares him down as he blushes, however he also shrugs as he does so, face turning to a guilty expression.

"What can I say? Imminate danger, curvy woman in front of me, might be killed, why not take the chance while I could? Besides it was just so inviting, just like a full coin purse loosely stuffed in a rich assholes pocket.."

"You know what, I'm having a hard time deciding if you or Bofur is worse right now, considering he just talks perversely, while you actually took it a step further."

"Believe me, Bofur would take the same chance, we're more alike than he thinks." Nori says grinning at her again, putting his quarterstaff behind his head and holding it from either side as they walk forward, coming closer to an inclosed area of trees, almost looking like a fence. "I'm just sneakier about it than he is, I don't feel the need to constantly joke about it, though I can. Besides, think of it as a compliment!"

"Yea yea, if you say so."

"I do. If I offended you I'm sorry, though I really think you aren't that badly, or you would have slapped me, or told Dwalin about and watched him throttle me, or kicked my ass yourself."

She glances at him from the side, and gives a tiny smile."You're probably right, apology accepted anyway though. I know how you can make it up to me, however. Nothing big, I promise."

"What is it?" he asks suspiciously. "I won't do anything to Dwalin, he doesn't need another reason to come after me, he has put me in jail enough as it is."

"Like I would ask you to do something to Dwalin, I actually like him. Actually, now that I think about it its kind of two things. One, I want you to train me with your quarterstaff some."

"Ok, that's doable, we just need to get you a staff. Whats the second thing?"

"I want you to pay attention to Thorin and Bilbo and tell me if you notice anything strange between the two of them."

"What, you mean besides the frustrating amount of sexual tension?"

She looks at him with full on shock on her face. "You mean you noticed it too? I thought I was the only one!"

"Please, give me more credit than that, I watch people for a living. Poor Bilbo is a meek little thing who doesn't think Thorin likes him at all, and Thorin is emotionally constipated, thinking if he ignores something it just goes away. Its gotten a bit better, but at this rate they will admit they have a fancy for each other in the next ten years."

"Can't we just lock the two of them up in a room and tell them they can't leave unless they talk to each other?"

"Yea right, Thorin would just keep kicking the door until it broke open. That, and no one would even think about doing that to him, except maybe Kili as a prank."

"Are all of you that dense when it comes to emotions? Because it's just silly to me."

"Nah, it's just a Thorin thing, though the princes are lucky it skipped them. Well, except for Fili, he has a bit of it in him. In case you haven't noticed it, the rest of us are pretty open about things."

She laughs as she watches Gandalf and Bilbo walk off towards the large log home in the distance, her and Nori being right in front of Bofur and Kili."Yea, it's kinda hard to miss, wandering hands and all. Not to mention Kili and Fili declaring themselves my protectors, and all of you deciding to beat up people who want to court me. Not that it's a good idea, mind you, for me to want to see people, but what if I like someone you guys don't approve of? What if the person you approve of is a total scumbag? Do you guys even do flings?"

"What exactly is a fling?"

"Well...umm...enjoying someone elses company in a special way, no strings attached?"

He lifts an eyebrow at her and smiles broadly."What, you mean sex? Tumbling someone, getting drunk and enjoying a night together, than both going off on your own merry way?"

"Not in so many words, but yes, I suppose." she says, blushing and looking ahead, as its nearly their turn.

"Aye, we do. Its something a lot of us looks down upon, mind you, but it also doesn't stop most from doing it on the down low...or in a closet, or hiding in the dark of the woods..."

"All right I get it, you can stop. I was just curious. It's the same way where I'm from, mostly because we have so many unwed mothers, and groups of uber religious people who think they can limit who another person can love."

"We really don't have the unwed mother problem, as the few women we have end up getting married and having children with their chosen One. Also, because most of the trysts are between men..."

"What are you two talking about?" Kili asks curiously, and Cricket turns red while Nori just smiles.

"Nothing much, I'm going to train her a bit with the staff. Look, its our turn let's go." Nori grabs her arm and they walk forward before Kili can ask any more questions. As they get closer, they see Gandalf telling the story of their escape to a large, extremely muscular man who can only be Beorn, curiously enough with Bilbo on his knee, Thorin glaring thunderously at him. Nori stares and whispers to Cricket."You know, that actually might speed things up a bit for them."

Cricket smiles conspiritorily at him. "You know, you may be right. I'm still not letting go of the locking them in a room idea though."

As they walk up to the group, Beorn down at them, then yells behind them."You all might as well come out now, I'm tired of waiting!" Cricket looks behind he to see the rest of the group running forward so not to make him mad, and she can't help the giggle that comes out of her. Beorn hears the noise and looks at her, his face soften slighty. "Gandalf, why did you not tell me there was a girl in your group, this makes my decision easier to make, dwarves or not. She shouldn't be traveling at night in these woods, more so than the rest."

"I did not think it relevant." Gandalf said, shrugging.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm a woman, not a girl, and I am pretty good at taking care of myself." She says to him, a bit annoyed.

He merely looks at her with an amused expression on his face."I'm sure you can, though we can't take any risks now can we? And how old are you again?"

"I'm 26, if you have to know." When she hears a choking noise she looks around to see all the dwarves with shocked looks on their faces, a few of them white as ghosts, most of them like they simply don't believe her, Nori with an eyebrow raised, and Bilbo for once not looking scandalized. "What?"

"Then to me, you are a girl, as I am several centuries older than you."Beorn says, lifting Bilbo to his shoulder and standing up, much to Bilbo's displeasure."Now, if you all come inside, you can finish telling me your story, and we can see about you bunking down for a couple of days."

As he walks towards the house, several dogs, rabbits, and a sheep following him, Cricket looks at her companions, who still look frozen with shock, and rolls her eyes, huffing and following Beorn into the house, the rest eventually coming behind her.

Once they have all came inside and sat at the massive table in his house, Gandalf finishes telling the story of their escape, and Beorn looks them all over.

"I will say, anyone who fights off goblins and orcs like that has a better placing in my eyes, as I hate goblins with a passion. And to not only stand up to the Goblin King, but to kill him, puts you very kindly in my eyes. For that you shall have a place to sleep in my home, as long as you do not venture outside till the sun comes up in the morning, for I cannot guarantee your safety if you do. As for you girl.."

"Cricket, not girl."

"Cricket then." he says smiling at her."I would offer you a place to stay even if you had not stood up to the Goblin king and the pale orc, as brave as a thing that was, simply for your being called a friend to the Eagles. They do not give that out lightly, and you will want to keep that feather where others can see it, if you can."

"I was just polite to him, it's not that big a deal."

"It is to them. Too many in this land would shoot them down, kill them for their meat, for their feathers, for their claws. To meet a child of Man, female or not, that not only is polite to them, but shows them the utmost respect, even curtsying to their lord? It is unheard of. So yes, it is a big deal." Cricket looks into her pint of mead and doesn't say anything.

"So, you said something about a place to sleep?" Bofur asks, breaking the silence.

"What? Ah, yes. I have several rooms down the left hall, enough for you all to have your own. I will have some things out for dinner in an hour, then I'm afraid you will be stuck inside after that. Also, these animals are my friends, and they are not to be harmed. You may milk them, or take eggs from the chickens, but other than that there is nothing close to meat on my table."

Several of the dwarves grumble at that, including Bombur and Ori, but Bifur elbows Bombur in the stomach, signing to him to get over it, while Dori simply tells Ori that at least it will not be all greens.

"As long as there is beer and mead, I'm fine with that!" Bofur exclaims happily, and they all laugh and chug whatever is left in their pint.

"Um, mr. Beorn?" Cricket asks tentatively.

"Just Beorn, what is it?

"You mentioned bedrooms...but is there a place to wash up as well? I would like to get the goblin blood and guts off me and my clothes."

He looks at her thoughtfully. "Not in the house, no, but there is a stream close to the house I use to bathe in. It is cold, but it works. You wouldn't have much time before it gets dark, however..."

"Thats fine, I just want to take a quick dip and change into some spare clothes for the moment, then I'm done." She was also getting her hair wet to touch it up a bit after Nori's hackjob, but she didn't need to mention that.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Kili says brightly."I could use a bath myself!"

"Yea, well, me first."

"But can't we wash up the same time?" He asks with a frown on his face."We are both really dirty, and he says we don't have much time, it seems the smart thing to me!" Cricket puts her face in her hands as Kili doesn't seem to understand, and some of the other dwarves snicker at her, and him as well. Luckily Balin steps in, the voice of reason.

"Lad, you can't take a bath with her, it wouldn't be proper."

"Why not, she is like a sister! And we can watch each others backs!"

"Yes, but she isn't your sister lad, not even close. And in case you have forgotten, you have to bathe naked, which I'm pretty sure is something she doesn't think you should see."

Kili pauses for a moment, thinking about it, then turns bright red and buries his head inside of his jacket from embarrassment. The rest of the dwarves laugh, and there are a couple of crude jokes, before Dwalin steps in front of her and pushes her out the door, followed by Bifur. "Come on lass, we will keep an eye out while you bathe, in case someone decides to be a peeping tom, or to steal your clothes for a laugh."

~Nori and the princes~ Bifur signs to her.

"Thank you." she tells them both, glad to have the two dwarves most likely to actually stick to their words watching out for her, and they head to the stream, Dwalin and Bifur stopping right in front of the rocks, turning around and crossing their arms.

"All right, you go over and wash real quick, and tell us when you are done, so we can go back to the house with you. Do you have what you need from your little bag?"

"Yes, just enough for a quick dip and scrub."

~Good, take too long and its more likely for the others to be up to no good.~

"Haha, you are probably right, be right back." She gets up close to the stream and quickly undresses, putting her clothes on the rocks and stepping into the water, shivering at the cold coming from it. She lathers up her hair and body and dives her head underwater, rinsing it all off, then hurries and puts conditioner in, dipping again before scrubbing her face with a cloth and stepping out, shivering. She is walking to her clothes when she hears a noise coming from behind her, and she pauses, hoping its just one of the bunnies."Dwalin, is that you?"

"Hey, I figured they must be wrong, if I think of you as a sister it can't at all be wrong, and it won't be weird either." Kili says as he steps out from behind a tree, and freezes as he sees her there in her birthday suit.

"Kili what the hell, get out of here!" She shrieks, grabbing the dress she pulled from her bag and covering herself with it.

"I was so wrong, I'm sorry!" He yells back, red as a tomato, blood running from his nose. He backs up in horror, tripping as he tries to cover his eyes and knocking his head on the ground.

"Whats going on here!" Dwalin yells as he runs forward, taking in the scene and stopping, Bifur next to him.

"All of you go away and let me put clothes on!" Dwalin and Bifur both look away and grab Kili by an arm each, hauling him away and berating him for doing exactly what they told him not to, Kili saying something about not being able to get the image out of his mind, and being so sorry, and that its harder to look at her like a sister now, and Thorin will kill him, and everyone will laugh...and it keeps going as Kili keeps rambling until Cricket can't hear him anymore.

She stands there for a minute before quickly throwing the dress on, glad its the one the elves gave her that doesn't need a bra, and grabs her stuff, running back to the house to give Kili a talking to of her own.

High in a tree, Nori doesn't start laughing until they are all inside, tears running down his cheeks.  
*********************************************

Much later, after many talks about why that was the wrong thing to do, that he wouldn't be allowed alcohol for the remainder of their stay there, and that Cricket would get to choose a suitable punishment for him in her own time, considering she was the wronged party, they all ate a filling dinner and headed to their rooms, Beorn already gone for the night. Cricket got one of her knives out as soon as she got into the room, and looked into the mirror the skin-changer had placed there for her.

Staring at her reflection she noticed several changes. Her face had finally thinned out, for one, having always had a bit of baby fat on it, with almost no sign of it there now. Apparantly she had cheekbones as well. Her skin had darkened slightly from the constant outside travel, making her eye color pop out more. She backs up a bit, noticing the rest of her has toned up as well, having more muscle on her than fat thanks to Dwalins training, but still keeping her curves thank god. She also notices that the damn whites are popping back up in her hair, peeking through the red tones she had put in, and wondered if she could figure out a way to color her hair here.

Sighing to herself she gets up close, taking the knife, and starts trying to even out her hair.  
********

When she finishes up she stares in the mirror and looks over her work, actually satisfied. There are layers all over, the longest of her hair now in the front, with the bottom of her hair just above her chin, curling out naturally, and long bangs in the front, sweeping across her forehead. The top of her hair is nice and choppy, and she runs her hands through it, making it look nice and messy. She made it so her whites wouldn't show quite as badly, and thought it looked pretty good for a knife. She puts it down, about to go to bed, when she hears a knock on the door.

Lifting an eyebrow she opens to door to a Bofur looking much relaxed afer a couple of beers. He looks up at her, smiling, then looks up at her hair.

"Hi, uh, your hair.."

"What, did I mess it up? Is it lopsided? All I had to work with was a knife and a mirror, cut me some slack."

"No, no, it looks good! I'm just not used to seeing women with short hair...or men really, for that matter. It looks good, I promise, it suits you."

"Thank you." she says smiling gratefully at him. "Did you need something?"

"Yes..can I come in? I brought beer!" He holds up two pints and grins at her. Rolling her eyes she lets him in, keeping the door open in case anyone else decides to chat. She sits on her bed, and he sits on the only chair in her room, and they both sip on their beers.

"Soo...you wanted to talk?" She asks him when he doesn't start speaking.

"Yes, I had a question. We all did really, but I'm the only one who wants to ask." She looks at him curiously."Are you really only 26?"

"Well, yea. Why, whats the big deal, it's not like I'm a kid or anything."

"Thats the thing." he says nervously as he plays with the cup in his hands."To us...you kinda are. You know Kili is 77, and Fili 82, right? They are the youngest in the group, or at least they were, until you came along and blew that out of the water. Now that we know how old you actually are, some of us really feel like perverted old men."

"No offense, but some of you are perverted men, though you don't look that old to me. And I will have you know that I am considered an adult where I come from. Besides, don't you live a lot longer than most of the people here? Not as long as elves, but still."

"Well yea, but still..."

"No buts. If men here live to be around 100 tops most of the time, and I'm 26, how does that factor in with dwarf aging?" When Bofur pauses, thinking, Cricket pulls out her phone and does some quick calculations, smiling when the answer comes up."According to my math, in human years, Kili and Fili are equivalent to being 17 and 18 in human years. So technically, I'm older than them. And even if not in years, after tonight I'm pretty sure I am in maturity level. Here, how old are you?"

Bofur looks at her strangely and tells her, gulping his beer down as she does some more calculations."See, not so bad. According to this, the human equivalent for you would be 34. See, if you think about it that way you aren't that much older than me. So shut it with all this young person nonsense. I'm not that young, you aren't an old man, and all of you are stuck with me. So there."

He looks at her and smiles after a couple of minutes."When you put it that way I can't help but agree with you. Of course, it may just be the beer, but who knows. By the way, I think you broke Kili." He grins at her expression. "He keeps talking about trying to scrub the image of you out of his mind, and Dwalin suggested letting him smack him with his hammer until he forgot."

"Thats what he gets for being a peeping tom, even if that wasn't his intention. Another piece of evidence pointing to me being older."

"I will agree with you there. Kinda sad I missed it though, heard his nose started bleeding, and you screamed like a girl."

"I am a girl."

"I thought you were a woman?"

"I.." She glares at his innocent expression."You know what I mean. And yes, his nose started bleeding, which may have been funnier at the time if I wasn't yelling at him naked and trying to cover myself while Bifur And Dwalin ran up."

"Yea, that's the part I wish I had seen."

"Me yelling at all of them naked."

"Yes. Well, part of it. No, all of it, I bet it was hilarious." She smacks him with a pillow and he laughs, getting up and heading towards the door."What, I'm just being honest. All those curves and no one to share them with.." He ducks quickly as she throws a knife at his head, still laughing.

"You know what I changed my mind, you are a dirty old man!"

"Yea, but you love it, admit it!" He takes the empty beer pint from her and winks, walking out of the room. Kili and Fili peek in, Kili's face going red before he mutters a quick "I"m Sorry!", and runs away to his room. Fili stands there for a moment, looking back and forth between them, strange look on his face, looking what he wants to say something, but ends up merely sighing and shaking his head.

"I...have no way to explain how things work in his mind, nor can I apologize enough. He simply has a way of rolling over whatever you say to him and going with what he thinks no matter what. You have no idea how many pranks he has pulled because of that. Um, you hair looks good...goodnight."

When he walked off Cricket stood up and shut the door, blowing out the candle next to her and flopping down in bed, trying to figure out a suitable punishment for Kili, as Thorin had insisted she eventually give him one, and figure out a good way to tell when a joker is actually being serious...and it just made her brain hurt.

"Cripes, where's the whiskey when you need it?" she thought out loud, before rolling over and going to sleep.

Beside her in the satchel, the egg had grown slightly, and was beginning to pulse with a pale light.

It was almost time.

_They never really told Bofurs age, so I'm just making it up._


	11. Whiskey

_Be Prepared. Bofur feels and nakedness. Not at the same time, but still._

Since leaving Rivendale, Cricket had read a small bit of the battered journals that Galadriel had given her every night. It wasn't that she was a slow reader, but that most of the entries were barely legible, and she had taken to writing them all down in a journal of her own once they were translated. Luckily, whatever that was allowing her to speak the same language as everyone else so far, also allowed her to read the language as well. Every once in a while she would ask Fili for help translating something over, as he spoke more of the languages there, but for the most part she was able to do it herself. She was also sharing the information she learned with him as well, since so far he was the only person who knew about her charge.

She woke up once during the first night at Beorns, due to hearing a strange scratching noise coming from outside the house. Instead of going immediately back to sleep as she wanted to, she lit the candle in her room and pulled out the satchel, taking the egg gingerly out and placing it on her lap, along with the journals and a pencil, deciding to take 30 minutes out of the night to catch up on her translating, as well as go back over what she had written so far.

The way it went so far, it was a series of facts about dragons, and the people they hatched for, called a Bondmate, or known as a soul bond, along with what powers they could have, the hierarchy of dragons and their bonded, how they fit in the society of middle-earth, and so on. She had everything listed in bullet form as she came across it for easier reading as well. So far, it was written down as such:

_Crickets List of Dragon Facts_

*All dragons, no matter be they Wyvern, Pygmy, Drake, High, Fae, Naga, Elemental, and so on, are all ruled by a King or Queen dragon, depending on what the child of the previous ruler happens to be.

*Ruling monarchs only have one egg, that way the question of ruling cannot be contested by siblings.

*A dragon cannot hatch unless there is a chance it will be able to mate. In the event there is none of the opposite gender hatched or waiting to hatch, dragons have the inborn ability to mate with a member of another species, if said member is willing.(How that worked, Cricket would pay to learn. Do they change shape, or lay an egg in their current form, or what?)

*Dragon nobles and royalty have the ability from birth to shift from dragon form to the form of whomever they bond with, and anywhere in-between, to better blend or better protect themselves and/or others.

*Dragons may eat in a smaller form, then change back and still be full with the smaller amount of food, though it doesn't last as long.

*Depending on the level of importance of said dragon, title of the person bonded with it will differ. The highest levels are that of Dragonknight and Royal Guardian, and those two titles may combine if necessary, though it has only happened once. Lesser titles include Dragonrider, Ambassador, Caregiver and Eggkeeper.

*Though not every dragon may have someone they bond with, Royalty always will.

*When bonded, a dragons power multiplies tenfold.

*Some powers only seem to come to those bonded, including but not limited to; the healing of the bonded persons body,including diseases, super speed, a shield of magic that can repel attacks but weaken said dragon, portal traveling, the ability to copy their image, changing size, hypnosis and mass healing of people and or the land, though the last was generally left to royalty.

*Some dragons are born with the ability to turn into a tattoo on the body of their bonded. While in this form they are effectively hidden from prying eyes, and may share certain protective aspects of themselves with their bonded, such as impenetrable skin.

*Dragons are born with the knowledge of their parents, which insures the royal heir will always have more advanced powers than others. It is also so that if the parents are not around when they hatch, they may still teach themselves to use their powers through memories of past learning.

*Dragons and their bonded may communicate telepathically, extending it to others if wanted.

*The bond between a dragon and its Bondmate are extremely close, almost parent-like it the bonded knows the dragon from hatching. If the bonded of a dragon dies, the dragon will often go into deep mourning, hibernating for many long years until their grief has subsided. Rarely, a dragon will go slightly crazy when it happens, and must be put down for others protection or placed in seclusion.(Could this be what happened to Smaug?) This is often bypassed as many gain extended lifespans when bonded to their dragon, sometimes stopping aging all together.

*The bonded persons natural abilities may often increase as well, including fighting prowess, speed, agility, and health of the body.

*Though dragons have an extreme fondness for gold, when they bond with someone their posessiveness dwindles to almost nothing, which is another reason the monarch always has a bonded.

*A Royal Guardian is considered to be at the same level of authority and peerage of a king or their own and/or other races, as a Dragonknight is considered the same as a commander or captain of the guard, or a general.

*A dragons colors often represent what elemental powers they will...

Cricket yawned and stopped for the evening as it was getting harder to pay attention to the words on the journal. Sighing, she closed the book for the night, putting everything back in the satchel before holding the egg for a minutes, cradling it to her chest to bask in its warmth, as she hadn't had a chance to do so since leaving the last Homely House. She notices it has grown larger since she found it, and almost seems to have a heartbeat-like pulse.

She lays it gently next to her in bed and blows out the candle, snuggling back into the covers with it and drifts back off to sleep, its warmth keeping her company.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She woke up for the first time in months without a hand or foot in her face, or loud snoring beside her, and smiled contentedly. It was very nice and relaxing to wake at her own pace, the bright morning light shining through her window, birds outside singing to one another. It was all extremely peaceful.

Something fishy had to be going on.

She stretched in bed and got up, placing the egg back in the satchel and pulling a little brown vest on over her smoky pink dress before heading out of the room and towards the kitchen in search of food. Or coffee. Both would be good, actually.

Instead of seeing the usual dwarves bustling around and eating breakfast, she sees their host sitting at the table, making noises at what looks like a group of giant honeybees. As they fly away he looks over at her and smiles."Good morning little bug. Did you have a good sleep? You certainly look well rested."

"I did, thanks...little bug? Really? It was strange waking up without hair or a foot in my face, but it was very enjoyable sleeping in a bed again."

He gives a booming laugh that echoes off the ceiling and makes some of the sheep scamper away, looking affronted."I bet it was! Traveling with that many dwarves, all male at that, it has to be tiring, but you seem to be coping all right."

"It definitely has its moments, but for the most part the worst thing I ever come across is their dirty jokes. Other than that they are very kind to me. I'm actually surprised none of them are enjoying breakfast."

"They all went outside a while ago, all but Gandalf. Since you mention food, are you hungry?"

"I could definitely eat. Did I hear you saying something about eggs last night?"

"Yes, but you will have to pluck one yourself as I only take them as needed. They are in the henhouse out back, you can't miss it." He says winking at her ."I'm brewing a bit of coffee, so it should be done when you get back."

"That would be awesome, thanks. Can't start a day properly without it, or at least in my book you can't."She says grinning back at him."Be back in a minute."

She slides on her boots and heads out of the house, lifting her face to the sky as soon as she is outside, enjoying the sun hitting her face, not worrying about packing or traveling, training or cooking for once. Smiling to herself she strolls casually around to the back of the house, spotting the huge red and white henhouse as soon as she rounds the corner, just inside the boundary of the woody area next to the house.

When she walks in casually, she realizes what Beorn meant by just plucking one egg and has to bite back a laugh as she finds the eggs are a bit smaller than her head. Thankfully the giant hens are all still asleep, and she tiptoes forward and grabs one before they can wake up and attack her Link style. She then sneaks just as quietly out, grinning triumphantly as she exits the henhouse as quickly as she entered it.

Unfortunately, her triumph doesn't get to last long, as her feeling of something fishy finally comes into play.

As soon as she exits the henhouse she hears a noise coming from in the trees. Walking around and towards the sound she expects to see some of the puppies from Beorn's house roughhousing, or perhaps some of the sheep grazing, maybe even Bilbo taking a morning stroll.

What she doesn't expect to see are the buck naked backsides of Bofur, Nori and Dwalin, walking towards the stream, laughing and joking around without a care in the world.

Her face turns red from embarrassment, she notices that Bofur and Nori, though not as muscled and bulky as Dwalin(lord that's where all the hair on his head went), are still both nicely muscled, bodies hard and lean from mining(Bofur) and thieving(Nori). At least, that's what she could tell from just their backsides, and she was certainly not lingering on any of their asses(except maybe a quick peek, she had always had a thing for a nice ass), while her eyes are wide open and her mouth is gaping.

She steps slowly backwards, meaning to escape before they can notice her accidental viewing, and a steps on a branch, causing the three of them to whir around in alarm, Dwalin looking like he expects an attack. However, they only see a bright red Cricket, standing there frozen in place. There is a brief moment where they all kind of stand there staring at each other, shocked into place, the sounds of others now evident behind them.

Dwalin reacts first, yelping in alarm and trying the best he can to cover himself up, to no success(Seriously, she did not need to know that about him, she was pretty sure he could knock out a troll with that thing!), then simply dives in a bush to hide his naked body from her. It would have been funny, a big guy like that hiding from her, if the whole thing wasn't so horrifying at the time.

Nori is the complete opposite of Dwalin, and stands there with a cocky smirk on his face, not bashful at all, body covered in thick chestnut colored hairs. He cocks an eyebrow at her, staring her down, waiting for her next move, completely at ease.

Ass.

Bofur surprisingly enough goes as still as she does, only with a much lighter blush, a slightly amused looked on his surprised face as she backs up into a tree. After the Dwalin incident she tries very hard not to look any lower than their stomachs, ever though it is very hard as she glances across both of their very toned chests and abs, Nori a little leaner than Bofur, Bofur's covered with a dusting of fine dark hairs, leading down his stomach to a happy that goes down to...

Nope, not looking there!

"Naked." She manages to croak out before turning about face...only to see a naked Kili and Fili running away from the stream, laughing, with everyone's clothes in their hands. Kili sees her and eeps much like she has been prone to, skidding to a halt as his face turns red, and turns around to run away, only to run smack dab into Dwalins chest, knocking himself to the ground with a thud. Fili simply freezes in place and stares at her in horror, eyes darting back and forth between her and the annoyed looking Dwalin.

"Um...naked..." She manages again, turning around and surging forward without looking, only to run face first into a tree trunk. "Ouch..where did that come from..." she mutters, before passing out next to the remains of her shattered egg.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next thing she knows she is coming to with a splitting headache, and hears several worried voices talking around her, as well as one irritated one.

"You two dunderheads had to run off with the clothes, didn't you?"

"Bilbo said he wanted to mend them."

"Not all of them, and not yet! And we were going to need part of our clothes either way so something like this didn't happen!"

"How were we supposed to know she was outside?"

"Does it matter? You knew she was close, dammit! Now she has seen you idiots naked and is probably scarred for life!"

"Speak for yourself, she didn't seem to mind taking in the sight of Bofur and me, fine specimens of dwarf males that we are. It's not our fault you scared her with the part of you that could club an orc to death."

"Ew, not really an image I want in my head, Nori."

"Wait, could you really kill an orc that way?"

"Kili for Mahals sake..."

"Very funny sneak thief, see how much she stares when you have that staff lodged up your..."

"For the love of all that's holy, can you please shut up? She can hear you." Cricket says, groaning, not yet opening her eyes for fear of what she might see.

"Thank goodness you're awake lass, are ya ok?" She hears Bofur ask worriedly as she sits up in place.

"If by ok you mean my head feels like someone knocked me out with a brick than yes. Oh, and because of Nori I now have the image of Dwalin clubbing orcs to death in my mind. And I've seen almost half the people I travel with naked now. Thanks for that, by the way."

She can hear feet shuffling sheepishly from the direction of Kili and Fili's voices."Yea, uh, sorry about that." Kili said.''

"We were just having a bit of fun, we might not of done it if we didn't think you were still asleep." Said Fili.

"Yea, we would have waited til you were busy or asleep again, that way...Ouch, what was that for?"

Apparently someone smacked Kili upside the head, and she smiles despite herself.

"It's fine." she eventually says."I should have expected you to be bathing at some point. Now, I don't suppose any of you bothered to pull on some clothes? Because I swear if I open my eyes and see dangly bits in front of my face, I'm closing my eyes again and pulling out my knife, then swinging blindly until I hit something."

Several feet seem to shuffle quickly backwards as she hears Dwalin chuckling in amusement.

"Don't worry lass, we took the time to at least pull some trousers on once we got the clothes back from these two." Bofur said.

"Well, that's a relief." She opens her eyes to see Kili and Fili peeking at her from behind Dwalin, who has an amused look on his face, with Bofur and Nori standing off to her side. Nori still has a smirk on his face, while Bofur just grins sheepishly at her and waves.

She takes the hand Dwalin offers her and comes shakily to her feet, Bofur coming and steadying her before she lets go. Glancing over at a still smirking Nori she lifts an eyebrow."You seem awfully pleased with yourself."

"Just wondering if you enjoyed the view, your eyes certainly had a long enough look."

She rolls her eyes at him as Bofur groans."Please, what little look I got before tearing my eyes away from you, there was so much hair you couldn't tell if anything was there or not. At least Dwalin's stood out." Nori looses some of his cockiness as the others burst out laughing.

"It was cold in the water, that's all."

"Don't try to make excuses laddie, she can match your wit every time. Come on, lets finish bathing in that cold, cold water. See ya back at the house lass." Bofur pulls away a now disgruntled Nori, the boys following close behind with all the other clothes, still giggling.

"Are you really ok? You slammed pretty hard into that tree, not to mention the shock of seeing us all...you know...'"Dwalin asks, slightly concerned look on his face.

"Yea, I'm fine, really. I have seen a naked guy before, it was just a shock, waking up to something like it, that's all. A few drinks and it will all be a distant memory, I promise Now, if you will excuse me, I need another egg to replace the one I dropped. Enjoy your bath, and thump the boys over the head for me."

"Haha, sounds about right lass, and I will." As he turns to follow the others back to the stream, she grins and calls out to him.

"By the way Dwalin?" When he turns to look at her she winks cheekily at him."I don't know much about dwarf anatomy, but where I come from that thing is something to be proud of." As she walks off he shakes his head, blushing slightly, and follows the others to finish his bath.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, after the dwarves have finished their bath and had a filling breakfast and lunch, Bilbo took all of their ripped clothes, leaving them in a simple shirt and trousers each, and retreated to a corner of the house to mend them. Kili and Fili were assigned to washing dishes for the rest of the time they were there, as punishment for not only taking the clothes in the first place, but for also suggesting they run around nude anyway now that Cricket had seen most of them that way. Cricket retreated to her room until it started to get dark, charging her phone with the hand pump and enjoying some quiet time with music. When she finally came out, she noticed Beorn in the kitchen that smelled amazingly like whiskey. Crossing her fingers she came up next to him and spoke up.

"Hey Beorn...that wouldn't happen to be whiskey, would it?"

He looks over at her surprised and smiles." That it is. Its my own special blend, brewed with the honey from the bees here. I have a cup of it every night as it gets dark, it helps...keep me happy, relaxed in a way, when I have company. Why do you ask?"

"Because since I got here all I have wanted was a good drink of whiskey, and honestly after the day I had I could really use some. Could I please, please have a cup?"

He frowns at her."I don't know little cricket, this is a strong, unique blend. It may prove too much for you."

"I'll dilute it with tea and honey, and I promise not to drink it too fast. Please?"

He looks at her pleading face and sighs."I always did have a problem saying no to the fairer sex. All right, but just one cup, and only if you dilute it. After that, we will see, as I'm not sure how it will affect a man-child, much less one from another world."

"Thank you so much!" she gushes, taking the cup from him and adding it to a larger one to add the tea and honey to."You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"It's my please, though I would be lying if I said I was not interested in how it turns out with you drinking it. Though, I must ask, you looked in good spirits when I saw you this morning, what happened to change it?"

She blushes as she stirs in the honey and looks down at the steaming cup."I saw the dwarves naked and walked into a tree." she mumbles quietly.

Beorn stares at her for a moment before breaking out into another one of his loud, booming laughs, and Cricket glares at her cup."You're right, you do need this!" He then proceeds to pour a bit extra into her cup, winking at her as he turns to walk away, still laughing.

She finishes stirring her hot toddy and follows him out of the kitchen to head to the sitting room, settling herself into a big armchair and pulling her legs in underneath herself and leaning back to fully relax. Taking a whiff of the mix she smiles in pleasure, pretty sure she almost moans, very glad Nori hadn't heard it, and takes her first sip. It burned pleasantly as it went down, and Beorn's warning about it being strong was extremely accurate. Taking another sip she notices she is already starting to relax from it, and automatically takes a bigger drink as the pleasant warmth spreads through her...along with another strange feeling taking root...one reminding her of the aftereffects of being her friends smoking buddy, trapped in a car with four others...and not the normal type of smoke either...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Bofur had finished his second beer and was about to start on his third when he heard a feminine giggle coming from the sitting room area. Furowing his brow he put down the empty pint and walked towards the sound wondering what Cricket could possibly be doing to make her giggle so, as the last time he had seen her she had headed to the kitchen. He was still a bit embarresed from earlier, and figured it was about time he apologized.

It wasn't that he was shy, or even that he didn't want her to see him naked(on the contrary, he had actually had a dream about that very thing, though she was too, and they were alone), it was more that she had seen so many of them at once. Dwalin was more bulky than him to be sure(in every way), and Nori had a nice thick coat of hair everywhere on him. While not as bare as poor Kili, Bofur only had a light trail of hair on his chest and stomach, though it was much thicker on his legs and arms(and face obviously). Bofur wasn't sure how he stacked up compared to the others in her mind, though the way Crickets eyes lingered on him made him feel very..warm. And his stomach fluttery. And the way she quipped back at Nori made him smile.

However, all he could do when he found her in the sitting room was stare in shock and amusement.

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, dress round her, puppies covering her lap, empty cup next to her, and one puppy climbed up her neck,licking her red and smiling face as she giggled like Kili when he got away with something. She looks up at him and smiles brightly, and he notices a peculiar look in her eyes, as if she is already drunk, as she waves at him and titters.

"Bofur! Hi, come join me! I have puppies, would you like one? They are so soft, and love kisses, and scratches behind the ears, and belly rubs...I love puppy kisses lots."To prove her point she picks one up and rubs it against her cheek, and it twists to lick her face, causing her to giggle again.

"I'm fine lass, I think they like you right now" He says with a touch of humour in his voice."Are you ok? What exactly did ya drink?"

"Something Beorn gave her."says Nori coming in as well, cocking his eyebrow and grinning at the sight of her in the floor.

"Hi NNiri...Nori! Did you know your hair reminds me of a starfish? Would you like a puppy, they are good cuddlers."

"No thanks, I prefer cuddling with someone my own size. With breasts. And curves. Actually if you would like to volunteer..."

Bofur rolls is eyes and crouches down in front of her."Look at me lass." he says, making her turn her slightly glazed, cobalt blue eyes to his sharp green-brown ones."What did Beorn give you to drink?"

"Whiskey, issa special blend. He, he said it was so strong I could only have one cup! It has special stuff innit to make him happy." She slurs her words slightly as she talks, still smiling happily at him as the puppies continue to swarm her, and he can't help but smile back.

Nori picks up the cup and sniffs it, sticking his little finger in it to taste the remains, a slow smile coming to his face as he realizes what the problem is."Beorn has good taste in whiskey, though I'm pretty its his special stuff that is making her loopy." He says, handing Bofur the cup."Give it a smell and tell me what you can tell is in there."

Bofur takes the cup with a frown and smells it like Nori asked, able to tell the honey, whiskey, tea and...He looks at Nori sharply, who simply smiles at him."Are you telling me she's.."

"A bit high off her ass? Yep. What do ya wanna bet that Beorn's special stuff really is special stuff? And that it just hits her extra hard?"

Bofur groans and looks at Cricket, who is rubbing a puppy against her face again."Well, shit. We can't leave her in here like this you know."

"Yea, if Bifur or Dwalin see her like this they will flip shit. Better get her to her room. So do you want me to take her to my room?" He wiggles his eyesbrows at Bofur, who just glares at him. "All right, I know, I wouldn't try anything with her like that anyway. I like em in their right mind. Good luck, I will take the puppies back to their mothers." He says, winking as he pulls most of the puppies off her and hauls them back to where they belong. Bofur sighs as he tries to pull her to her feet and she stumbles, giggling as she hold onto him for support the second time that day. After trying to walk a couple of times he gives up and simply scoops he up in his arms and carries her back to her room, her arms going round his neck as her head burroughs into his neck.

He tries to ignore the warm feeling going through his body as he walks through the house glad everyone else is in the kitchen eating, feeling her hot breath on his neck, one of her hands on his chest, threading through his chest hair."Hey Bofur?"

He looks down to see her looking up at him looking almost tired."Yes lass?"

"I like your hair. I have never seen it down, It's really soft." He bit back a groan as she ran her fingers through his now unbound hair, glad he hadn't braided it back yet, but wishing he had all the same because of the noticably tightening of his pants area. In their culture, playing with hair was almost like foreplay, and no one had played with his hair in a very long time. She absentmindedly keeps running her fingers through it, curling it over her fingers, smiling to herself. He puts on a smile for heras well, as he tries to ignore the feelings running through him.

"Thank ya lass. A dwarfs hair is great part his honor and pride, and we try to take good care of it." He manages to choke out.

As she continues to run her fingers thru it she suddenly frowns, and he notices it."Whats wrong?"

"Does that mean you think I'm ugly now? Cuz, I had to cut off my hair, and everyone made a big deal about it. Except for Dwalin, he likes it. And Bifur is always telling me about the women where you are from having long hair and beards..."

"No lass, not at all, you aren't ugly! Not at all!" He exclaims, as they enter her room."You're beautiful, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" As he lays her on the bed she lazily looks up at him and smiles, gripping him tightly around the neck and squeezing a hug out of him.

"Thank you Bofur, you're really sweet and handsome, you deserve a really nice girl. I will be jealous, whoever you find..." He gapes at her as she lets go."Will you stay with me for a little while, until I fall asleep? Please?" She looks pleadingly at him, and it is at this point he realizes it is going to be hard saying no to her if she wants her way, and that what he said was true. She was beautiful, with her now shaggy hair drifting across her forehead and striking blue eyes, framing her face perfectly.

"All right lass, until you fall asleep." He gets on the bed, making sure the door is open so no one suspects anything, and puts his back against the wall, with her surprisingly sitting next to him and lying her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you...will you tell me a story about your home? I really like listening to you talk."

He looks up at the ceiling and sighs, all these different emotions ramming into each other as she cuddles into his side and puts her hand back on his chest, wondering he got into this predicament. "I...all right, I will tell you about my toy store back home..."

As he talks, she slowly drifts happily off to sleep, and when Gandalf passes by her room he smiles at the sight of the two of them asleep on the bed, Cricket cuddled into Bofurs side contently, while Bofur has his arm around her, keeping her close as they both sleep, completely relaxed next to one another, not a care in the world. He shakes his head and moves on to his own room, glad the two of them can find some measure of comfort in one another.

_SSOOOO i have pretty much decided the best person to stick her with, though expect a rocky road coming up, with a couple of dwarves making Nori look like mr. Nice guy in later chapters._


	12. Braids

_Be prepared._

"Can any of you braid this into my hair?"

This is the first thing Cricket says as she walks into the sitting room, having slept until the early afternoon, which was strange for her. Not only that, but she was on top of her covers on the bed, with a thin blanket draped over her, and she had a feeling that she was missing a warmth that had been there. Thankfully, or unfortunately, however you look at it, she didn't remember anything from last night after she started drinking the whiskey, except for puppies and the feeling of long soft hair through her fingers. She was honestly just glad she made it back to her bed before she passed out.

After changing out of her dress and back into her pants and waistcoat, she noticed the feather sticking out of the satchel, and after considering it for a few moments grabbed it and finished up in her room, heading out to find one of the others. Luckily they were all in the sitting room, and she is glad she won't have to search very long to find one of them.

However, what she doesn't expect is for all of them to instantly stop what they are doing and stare at her when she asks her question.

"Um, what are you all staring at? Did I forget to button something? Is my hair standing up straight?"

Balin is the first to partially recover."Lass, did you just ask someone to braid your hair?"

"Well, yea, why? Whats the big deal?"

All the dwarves except for Bifur mutter amongst themselves about the best way to answer the question, with Thorin finally rolling his eyes from the corner and speaking up."We really do need to inform you more about our culture if you are to travel with us, Cricket. For us, braiding hair is generally only something that two who are courting do to one another, and afterward when they marry. It is a sign of trust, and considered a very intimate act between the two. The way you put your question, it was almost like asking if one of us, any of us, would court you."

"Seriously? I can't have one of you braid my hair unless I plan on courting you?"

"I volunteer!" Nori says, getting a smack upside the head from Dori, and Cricket groans to herself.

"It's just the way we are, lass." Balin says to her."Either its someone from your family, or someone you are courting."

As she mentally sighs she sees Bifur grinning and signing at her. After watching his hands move for a while she smiles and turns back to Thorin and Balin."You said family braids each others hair, right?"

"Yes, they do. You, however, have no family here..." Thorin starts.

"Not true!" she says smiling at him and winking over at a grinning Bifur."I've been told by some of the company that they consider me an adopted sister. And as their sister, they can braid my hair, correct?"

"Well, its..uh..its not generally done that way..."Balin says slowly, looking over at Thorin in the corner before looking back at her."But I suppose that since you don't have any family here, adopted family can work in this case. Unless you are in the mind to start courting someone here?"

"Just to get a feather braided in my hair? No thanks, it's all kinda silly sounding to me, but if I can get it to work for me oh well." Balin simply smiles and shakes his head at her as she goes over to thank Bifur for finding a loophole, puffing a bit on his pipe.

~Thanks, you're my hero.~Cricket signed to him, getting a large smile back from him.

~Welcome. Besides, it's just a feather, it's not as if you are asking one of us to jump in bed with you. Of course, 2 or 3 might not object if you did ask..~ he looks pointedly over at Nori and wiggles his eyebrows at her, reminding her a lot of Bofur.

~Oh, you don't have to remind me, he certainly does at every chance. Probably don't need to ask him to braid the feather in, that's for sure, I would never hear the end of it.~

~I agree. I would ask someone who you know won't make a big deal out of it.~

~Like who? What about you?~

~Well, no one would dare make fun of Dwalin, he would knock them out. I would, but my braiding skills are something to be desired. Kili would be a good choice as he thinks of you as an actual sister and has smaller fingers, but he hasn't much practice braiding, as you can see by his lack of. Bofur would be as well, as he is used to working with small details from toy-making, and that braid will be a bit small considering your lack of length, and he thinks very highly of you, though he can go about it the wrong way at times.~

~Thank you.~She smiles at the dwarf and looks around the room, trying to decide which one to ask. Kili was in a corner with Fili, probably planning some mischief or another, and when he sees her he gives a bright cheerful wave in her direction, his fingers covered with honey, and Fili rolls his eyes and facepalms.

Nope, not him.

Dwalin is discussing travel plans with Thorin and Beorn, his face terse as Beorn shows them a map of the forest they are to travel through. Cricket thinks she sees Thorin mouth something like "bloody elves" as they point to a certain part of the map. Dwalin's mouth is set in a hard line, and she decides its better not to interfere to ask him.

That leaves Bofur, who is currently talking to Bilbo and Bombur, throwing little pieces of cheese into Bomburs mouth while Bilbo laughs at the two. Bofur tries the same thing with Bilbo, and ends up hitting him in the nose, making Bombur laugh so hard he falls off his chair and making Bilbo blush. Cricket smiles at the look on the face of the poor hobbit and walks over to the group.

"Don't feel bad Bilbo, Bombur just has a much bigger mouth than you, so its hard to miss." She quips, causing Bilbo to look up and smile at her. "Of course, you could probably beat him eating wise any day, he can just shovel in a larger pile."

"Hey!" Bombur complains when he gets up off the floor finally.

"Ya can't complain if its true, brother." Bofur says laughing.

Bombur thinks about it for a moment and shrugs, stuffing half a loaf of pumpernickel bread in his mouth and mumbling something incoherent. Bofur and Cricket both shake their head at him, while Bilbo looks on in horrified fascination, and Cricket looks over at Bofur.

"So, do you think you could braid this thing in my hair? Bifur said you would be one of the best people to do it."Bofur froze with a pint lifted almost to his lips, hiding the slight redness that had come to his cheeks at her question. Composing himself he takes a drink before answering her.

"Eh..I can, lass, but are you sure you don't want Bifur himself, or maybe Kili?"

"Bifur says he can't braid very well, and it has to be small because of how short my hair is. And Kili's hands are covered with honey at the moment from whatever he is plotting with Fili. I can ask someone else if you don't want to?" She cocks her head to the side at him, knowing part of his hesitation but not all of it.

"No, its fine..just..uh..hold on." He chugs the rest of his beer down for some liquid courage, and breathes in deep before turning back to her."Do you have anything to keep it tied?"

"Uh yea..here ya go." She hands him a pink band, and he stares at it before laughing.

"This little thing won't do lass, here, we can use this."He reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a little strip of dark brown leather."I keep extras with me for my own hair, and it will match yours better." He takes a look around the room, lifting an eyebrow at his brothers mirthful face."Come on, lets go to your room for this, that way I won't have Bifur, Bombur and Nori staring at me the entire time."

Sure enough, as they stand up Nori grins and nudges Bifur in the side, both watching them leave for her room. She misses this, though Bofur doesn't, and he shoots both of them a glare before signing ~Not a word, either of you~ and walks out of the room. Nori looks away still smiling as he compiles the bets of everyone who think that Bilbo and Thorin won't work out the feelings for each other until they get to Erebor, wondering if he should start another pool, and if its cheating if he interferes...

Bofur and Cricket enter her room and she looks at him questioningly."Should I just sit on the bed, or..."

"Yes, the beds fine...here sit like this."He turns her legs on the bed how they need to be positioned and sits cross-legged on the bed facing the side of her he will be braiding, and gulps without knowing it, glad he left the door open."Ha..hand me the feather."

She does, noticing the stutter in his words and giving him a quick glance."Are you ok? I can seriously ask someone else to do it if you don't want to..."

"I can...its just a little strange, that's all." He says, giving her a small smile before turning her head back straight."The only other person whose hair I have braided is my brothers, and a woman I courted back home...its been a while."

She frowns as he sections off some of her lower hair."You have courted someone before?"

"Yes, back in the Blue Mountains."

"What happened? It sounds as if you aren't anymore."

"I'm not." He says mournfully, pausing for a moment."She decided she was too good for a mere miner and toy maker, and left me to court one of the lords sons who had taken a liking to her."

"Oh Bofur, I'm so sorry." she says, placing a hand on his leg since she can't look at him."Someone who would go and do that doesn't deserve you. Besides, someone who loves you doesn't care what you do, doesn't try to change you, they love you for who you are, and don't give a damn what everyone thinks. That's the kind of person you deserve."

He is glad she can't see him as one tear rolls down his cheeks, and smiles sadly as he wipes it away with his arm."Thank you Cricket...you're right. No reason to get all choked up about the past."

"You know, I think that's the first time I have actually heard you say my name."She says with a grin."Usually its just lass."

"Yea...sorry about that. It's another, what you would call, silly dwarf thing. Its considered inappropriate to call a female you aren't courting or related to by their first name. Another one of those extremely intimate things."

"Good grief, you guys have way too many of those. I'm afraid I'm going to say the wrong thing someday and ask one of you to sleep with me without knowing it."

He chuckles at her and starts back in on her hair."So, why are you having me braid this in, anyway?"

"Because the Lord of the Eagles said it shows I'm their friend, and that creatures will recognize that when they see it. I figured it would just be easier to keep it in my hair, and Beorn said it would be good for me to keep it in plain sight, so hair it is."

"Aye, it's a good idea if that's true." He has almost finished putting it in, fingers gently brushing the side of her neck, gulping again as he tries to ignore the warm feelings running through him again as he tries to not run his fingers through her hair, as she did to him last night, or simply gripping it tightly as he kisses her deeply.

He also tries very hard not to imagine kissing a soft trail down her neck, and is suddenly very glad he is wearing loose pants. He breathes a sigh of relief as he finally finishes after what seems like hours, and ties it off neatly with the leather, realizing he has just put something of his into her braid and blushes quickly again.

"A..all right, you're finished." She stands up and looks in the mirror and smiles as she looks at his neat work, and turns around to face him.

"Thank you so much, it looks great!" She steps forward and hugs him tightly, and he lets himself enjoy it. When she finally lets go she looks into his eyes and smiles, but as she doesn't look away the warm feeling starts to blossom in his body again, and this time she seems to gulp and lick her lips as she stares into his eyes, hers seeming to darken. He is about ready to just give in and kiss her when he notices a bright blue light coming from the satchel she keeps next to her bed, and that it seems to be straining from something inside it.

"Lass, what exactly is that?" he asks, pointing to the glowing light. She drags her eyes away from his to glance where he is pointing, and her face goes pale. She runs over to the satchel and glances inside, looking over at Bofur and trying to decide what to tell him.

"Its..uh..well..hell, you were going to figure it out sooner or later." She comes to a decision and pulls the egg out, Bofurs face taking on a shocked look at the sight of the pulsing egg.

"Lass, is that what I think it is?" He asks as she sits on the bed and cradles it to her. She looks at him and nods."Where on earth did you find it?"

"The troll caves. Guess its back to lass then, huh."

"And why is it glowing like that?"

"I don't know. It has before, but not like this...It almost feels like it's a heartbeat now, the pulse is so strong..." She looks at him guiltily."I was planning on telling all of you, but there just never seemed to be a good time. The only other person who knows is Fili, and that's because he was there when lady Galadriel asked about it."

"So it is a dragon egg then...you know, considering how Thorin feels about Smaug, I can understand you not saying anything, but how do you think he will react once it actually hatches?" As he says this, a small crack appears on the side of said egg, and they both start.

"I guess we will find out.." Cricket says quietly as many small hairline fractures appear, and the light from it seems to spread."Bofur, go get Gandalf, hurry! I'm not sure what will happen once it actually hatches!" Bofur nods and runs out of the room as the cracks get larger, and she can almost feel the mind of its occupant pushing at hers as it pushes against the egg.

As Gandalf and Bofur return, Cricket sees that the rest of the company and Beorn have followed as well, worried about her that she should need Gandalf in such a hurry. Fili, though, once he notices what is in her lap, goes pale, and catches her eyes and nods his support. The rest of them are in a picture perfect moment of shock as they stare, mouths agape, and the egg cracking apart in her lap. The pulses coming from the egg are so strong now, they seem to be affecting the rest as well.

Suddenly a particularly large crack forms, shattering the egg in two, the blue light swirling around its previous owner, and Cricket as well now, settling a small bit to reveal the baby dragon that was inside. Its eyes are an intense blue, its body a dark sapphire blue with a black underbelly, as well as the strips on its wings, and its claws. It shakes its head a bit to get the remnants of shell off its head, and looks straight at her, making a noise like a kitten, and the rest of the company gasp in alarm, Beorn and Gandalf looking more in awe. As it looks at her the warm feeling that she always felt holding the egg came back, and she smiled and stroked its little head cautiously.

It makes a purring noise as she does so and climbs up to look her straight in the eyes."Cricket, should I.." Fili starts, coming forward, as well as Bofur, but Gandalf stops them and shakes his head. The dragon seems to stare into her soul and makes a nodding motion, placing its forehead against her head, the swirls around the both of them getting stronger, and all of a sudden there is an explosion of light that blows everyone off their feet, as two giant wings made of glittering blue light spring from the both of them. Cricket can feel the dragons presence inside her, mind and soul melding with her as she feels power and magic surging through her, and a tiny child-like voice saying"Finally!" and the swirling stops.

The rest of the company look on to see both of them open their eyes at the same time, both sets glowing the same color as the swirling magic, before they fade to their original colors, a pattern of swirling blue now on her neck the color of her(she was already thinking of it as hers) dragon. It seems to smile at her before dropping back into her lap and curling up into it, her hand still stroking its head, and it makes the purring noise again, vibrating from its belly as she stares down at it lovingly.

The moment breaks when she hears Gandalf clearing his throat, and she starts, looking up at him, his face holding an odd expression."Miss Cricket...I believe you owe us an explanation."Nodding guiltily she stands up slowly, cradling the baby dragon in her arms.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you're telling me that not only did you find that..thing..in the troll cave, that Fili knew about it as well!" Thorin raged after she told everyone her story, the dragon stirring a bit from the noise. Fili had placed himself next to her in support, Gandalf on her other side in order to get a closer look at her new friend.

"Only after we left Rivendale uncle." Fili said, knowing it meant little.

"That doesn't change the fact that you did not tell me! And now we have a baby version of the thing that took over our home sitting in her lap!"

"Maybe she knew you would react like this, and didn't want to chance you trying to smash it!"

"And I would have! That thing is evil and will destroy us all!"

"No, it won't."Gandalf said quietly from her side.

"And how do you know that wizard?" Thorin said, moving his ire to him.

"Because look at it now, Thorin. Do you sense evil coming from it? Because I don't. I sense an innocent heart, and a fierce protectiveness and love for Cricket, which if I'm not mistaken she is feeling the same for it. Galadriel would not send it with her if there was a chance it would be dangerous."

"It's not evil, Thorin, it's a baby." Cricket whispered to him, and he looks to her, his face softening slightly at her miserable expression."Come and just stroke his head, then tell me what you think then." Thorin looks at her suspiciously and nods, coming forward slowly and kneeling in front of her. Bringing up his hand he looks up at her and she nods, and he slowly lowers it to the sleeping dragons head, giving it a gentle stroke, feeling its purr, and it stretches, making the kitten noise again.

He starts a bit when it stretches but otherwise his face softened even more, turning into one of slight awe, and he slowly stands up and closes his eyes, making a decision. He opens his eyes back up and looks hard into her eyes."I will...allow you to bring it with us, for now. As you said, it is a baby, and seems mostly innocent, but I swear, if I feel for one moment it means to hurt any of us...I will put it out of its misery. Do you understand me?"

"I do. And it won't get a chance to. I will teach it better, to know right from wrong, to know not to hurt innocent people. I promise." Thorin nods and backs off, taking the wizard and Balin with him as he does for a long discussion, and Cricket sighs in relief, finally relaxing into the chair, no longer worried she would need to protect her charge from Thorin. Fili also relaxes, as he had been worried he would have to intervene with his uncle possibly trying to hurt either of them.

"You know this isn't over with him, right?" he says, giving Cricket a tired glance."He will constantly be looking to make sure the dragon isn't doing anything construed as dangerous. You will have to constantly be on your guard."

"I know. But technically its the same way with any baby, so it won't be too much of a change in that aspect. Of course, I have no idea what his powers are yet. So that will be fun."

Kili comes cautiously forward to peer at the dragon."So you know it's a he?"

"I..think so. I have a feeling inside that says it's a he...plus I think I heard him talking to me at one point, inside my head. Apparantly dragons can do that."

"Can...can I stroke his head?" Kili asks shyly, and Cricket smiles at him.

"Ok. Just be gentle. He is a baby after all, and asleep." Kili nods and runs a finger down his head, a smile coming to his face.

"I can feel him purring! He is a lot softer than I thought he would be, and he's so tiny!"

Crickets grins at his youthful enthusiasm, glad someone isn't scared."His scales will probably get harder as he gets older. I don't know much about dragons, but if they are anything like cats, then I guess he's happy."

"I guess that means we have to try to finish going through those journals, see if there is anything vital in there we need to know." Fili says frowning."I wish the handwriting wasn't so awful, it would go a lot faster."

"Maybe there is something about the mark on your neck."Bofur says, and Cricket frowns.

"What mark?"

"There's a mark on your neck, almost like a tattoo, same color as the dragon and swirly." He says, walking over and touching the area on her neck where it was."Its actually kind of pretty."

"When Gandalf comes back I plan on picking his brain on everything he knows." She says, rubbing her hand over the area Bofur touched, still frowning."Surely he knows something about them. Galadriel says there used to be a lot more, and they were actually peaceful. Surely there is still information about those days somewhere."

"Well, in the meantime, it looks like he is waking up. You said he talked to you, maybe he will do it again?"

As the baby dragon stretches and opens its eyes, Kili and Fili both sit down on the ground in front of Cricket and stare in wonder, while Bofur, Nori, Ori, Bifur and amazingly enough Dwalin sit back down to see what happens. She takes one finger and runs it gently all the way down its back, causing it to make the kitten noise again and look at her."Good morning little one." She says gently.

*Good morning.* The young voice in her head goes again, and she smiles broadly.

"He is talking again!"She says excitedly, and they all lean in closer, eyes wide. She thinks for a moment before trying a different way. *Can you hear me this way too?*

*Yes..you are my person!*

*Haha, I suppose I am. Do you know my name?*

*Your name is...Cricket! Thats what the scary man called you.*

*Scary man? Oh, you mean Thorin! Yes, that's my name...do you have a name?*

*I..don't think I do yet. Will you give me one?*

*I can if you want, hold on, let me think.* She looks at the others and grins."He thinks Thorin is scary, and wants me to give him a name."

Kili laughs as the others look on in wonder."Uncle can be scary at times for sure, poor thing. What are you going to name him?"

"I don't know." She says as the dragon creeps closer on her lap to the princes and cocks his head at them, making a mewling noise."The only experience in naming things I have is from pets, and I'm pretty sure fluffy or spot isn't appropriate."

Dwalin barks out a nervous laugh."Aye, try striking fear into the hearts of your enemies with a name like Sunflower. Run men, the dragon Fluffy is coming for you!" Several of the others laugh at that, and she smiles at the gruff dwarf.

"We really aren't trying to strike fear into anyone right now, are we? Don't need to give Thorin another reason to dislike the poor little guy." She thinks about it for a moment, and she suddenly remembers something she read in the journals.*You know how you can talk me in your mind?* She asks the tiny dragon, and it looks at her with its big eyes, nodding.*Do you think you could make it so the others could hear you as well?*

*I think so..I can try. I think my momma was really good at it...I can feel her memories of doing it with her person.*

*Really? Thats great, aren't you just so smart!* As the tiny dragon puffs out his chest, she grins and looks at the others."I'm going to try something with him, so if you hear something in your head, don't freak out. Fili, you read the journals, you know what I am going to try with him" He looks at her for a moment before it dawns on him, and gives her a small smile, nodding."If this works the way I hope it will, we will all be able to give him name ideas for him to choose from. Is that ok with all of you?"

They look back and forth between one another, a bit confused, before nodding at her, Kili looking super excited. Cricket was pretty sure he was going to be the easiest in easing in to the whole dragon thing, which would make it a lot easier on her to have such cheerful supporters. She looks back at the dragon and nods.

*Ok, try it.*

She sees the tiny dragon close its eyes, as if in concentration, before hearing its voice once more in her head.*Hello?* she hears him put out hesitantly, sounding a lot like her nephew back home, reminding her once again just how young it was. She is pleased when all the dwarves start slighty as he speaks, knowing they must have heard him.

"Bloody hell.." muttered Dwalin.

"I..would have to agree with ya. This is kind of unbelievable." Bofur agreed next to him, Nori and Ori nodding while Bifur signed~Success!~ to her. Fili simply smiled, while Kili got the most excited look she had ever seen on his face.

"I heard him! Can he hear me? He sounds like a 3-year-old dwarfling! Hello! My name's Kili! I..."

"Kili, calm down!" Cricket says laughing at him."Give the poor thing a chance to talk."

The dragon looks at Kili and nudges his nose with his snout, causing him to giggle.*I can hear you goofy man. Are you going to help give me a name? All of you? Cuz I would like that, my person likes all of you a lot, which means you are nice people.*

Nori snorts and looks at Dwalin."You hear that? He says we are nice people. Not something I usually hear said about either of us."

Ori is busy scribbling in his book, looking up every couple of minutes to make sure he doesn't miss anything. "All right" she says out loud for everyones benefit."We are going to give you some names, and you can stop when you hear one you like. Is that ok?"

*Sounds ok to me.*Every time he speaks, Cricket is surprised such well composed sentences can come from a creature who sounds so much like a toddler, almost as if an adult was born again with all of his past lives knowledge, and figures it has to do with the parents passing on their knowledge to him.

"Ok, how about, Drake?"

"Naw, that's too obvious. How about Steel?"

"Gambit?"(Fili had a favorite x-man after all)

~Biter?~

"Bofur the second?"

"Destroyer!"

"Bob!" Everyone looked at Kili, making him blush."What?"

"We are not naming him after your cat back home!"

"But he is purring, and keeps making those little noises Bob did when we got him!"

"He isn't a cat!"

"Cobalt?"

"Shadowstorm?"

This went on for quite a while, all of this going between ok and ridiculous names(mainly Kili and Dwalin, who was convinced the dragon needed a name that terrified people when they heard it), before Cricket started thinking about names back home more, and started going over some from her favorite books, finally stopping at one that the dragon perked up at.

*Can you please repeat that one?*

"What, Conner?"

*Yes...I like that one. I felt warm when you said it.*

*I like it too. It's from one of my favorite movies, and it's the name of a immortal warrior. Is that what you want to be called?"

*It is, it sounds right."

"Well then, now that that's settled, we can properly introduce you."She says, scratching him gently under the chin."Everyone, I have the honor of introducing you to Conner. Conner, this is everyone."

*Hi everyone!* Conner seems very pleased to have a name, and cautiously crawls down Crickets legs and over Kili's, nuzzling into his hand before moving on around the room, trying to investigate everyone. Most of them are a bit nervous at this, except for Bifur, who seems to enjoy the little blue dragon. Dwalin doesn't seem to know what to think as Gwaine sniffs him, and pats him awkwardly on the head. Conners last stop before coming back is Bofur, whom he actually climbs all the way up, looking him in the face before climbing up to roost in his hat.

"Haha, I think he sees your hat as a nest!" Ori cries, and the rest of them laugh as Bofur smiles and takes Conner off of his head, placing him back on his lap.

"Thats not a bed laddie, you might fall off if you lay up there."

*Can you take it off so I can sleep in it? It's very comfortable. Does it protect your head?"Cricket giggles at the very Kili-like question.

"Nope, I'm afraid it's just a hat, sorry. And no, its staying on my head for now, thank you." Conner huffs and climbs down, coming back to Fili and Kili and squeezing between them, much to their delight. Cricket looks at Bofur with an amused look in her eyes and he grins back at her. As he does she faintly remembers the way he looked at her after the hug, the ways his fingers brushed her neck as he braided her hair, the way he looked when she accidentally caught him outside..

*Cricket?* She looks down at Conner as he breaks her out of her thoughts like a cold shower.

*Yes? What is it?"

*I'm hungry.*

"So am I!" Kili said, putting on his puppy dog look, which Conner almost seems to imitate, and she can't help but laugh at the two of them."Can you make us some cookies?"

*Whats a cookie?*

"A cookie is a magical, soft, chewy food with lots of yummy things in it, like chocolate and nuts and oatmeal and cranberries and..it's the best thing ever! Cricket, he has never had cookies, you have to make us...him..cookies!"

"I wouldn't mind cookies either lass."

"I prefer pie."

"Cheesecake!"

"For gods sake...I will make something, but you can't have sweets until you eat regular food. Besides, I need to see what dragons can eat other than meat, considering Beorn might not like it if we sic Conner on his chickens or sheep."

"Thats why we try him out on cookies!"

*I want cookies! Please?* Kili, Fili and Conner all stare up at her with sad pleading looks on their faces, and when she looks to the others they simply grin and shrug.

They were going to teach Conner some very bad habits, she just knew it.

_Yay Dragon time! I like the fact Kili might be very open to the thought of a baby dragon, and went with it. Also, yay for more Bofurness!_

_Aso, I have a new picture of Cricket catching them naked! art/dwarves-ready-to-bathe-469486060  
_

_And riding the lord of the eagles. art/cricket-flying-with-the-lord-of-eagles-468880285_

_Also Also, would any of you be interested in one-shots of whats ifs between her and some of the guys,,,like maybe Nori? Or even Dwalin? I want to put some of the others ideas im not using in the story..._


	13. Tattoo

From the very begining, Cricket could tell that Kili and Conner, though the closest friend the baby dragon hade made among the dwarves, were going to be an extremely mischivious pair, even more so when joined by Fili. Knowing it would be pointless to tell them to be good, she simply told them not to do anything to Thorin, which they readily agreed to, especially since Conner still saw him as the angry guy.

The company was taking a couple more days to recover and plan at Beorn's house, and in the meantime Cricket was being primed on the best way to take care of her new charge. Beorn and Gandalf were both teaching her what they could, Beorn having a lot of experience with baby animals, and surprisingly enough Kili sat in on every session, as interested in taking care of Conner as she was. Because of this, the rest of the company was slowly getting used to the baby dragon, with Kili being the most comfortable. A couple of the other dwarves didn't seem to mind him though, as she noticed through her interactions throughtout the day with them.

Bofur would often find Conner climbing up him to get to his hat, and after the first couple of attempts he eventually stopped taking him down immedietly, letting the dragon stay there if he was staying still for a while anyways. One afternoon, Cricket found the two of them asleep under a tree, Bofur with his hat in his lap, Conner curled up in the hat, both without a care in the world. She had tried very hard not to laugh, but with no luck, and ended up waking them both from their peaceful slumber. Conner made a happy noise in the back of his throat when he stretched awake and saw her standing there smiling, and bounded over to her, jumping into her arms and nuzzling into her neck. Bofur had blushed mightly when he saw who had waken him, but took the hand up she offered him, and followed her to the house when she told him lunch was ready.

Dwalin was interested in how exactly bonding with Conner would increase her fighting skills, and sparred with her every day to see if there was any change. Cricket told him what she knew of the process so far, which wasn't much, and that she didn't know when or if they even would, but promised if she saw a diffrence he would be the first to know, to which he scoffed and said he would be able to tell before she did. Amazingly, Dwalin was also the one that helped Conner turn into a tattoo for the first time as well. They had been sitting in the sitting room one night, discussing his tattoos and what they meant after they finished dinner. Dwalin was showing Cricket the ones on his chest and arms when Conner jumped up on his lap to get a closer look himself, curious about the inkings.

Dwalin in his defense didn't start, but merely stared down at the little dragon, an amused glint in his eyes.

*Mister Dwalin, how come you have so many pictures on you?*Cricket giggled at that and looked at Dwalin, wondering how he would answer.

"You mean my tattoos? These are warriors marks. They represent battles I have won, people I have lost, people that mean the world to me, things like that."

*Do they all mean something important then?*

"Most of them do, yes. Granted, I have one or two in...private places, that are mainly just for decoration, much like some of my piercings(Kili and Fili start giggling like maniacs at this, barely managing to stop when Dwalin glares daggers at them) but most of them are there for a good reason."

Conner seems to think about this for a moment*So you think a tattoo should be special then?*

"Of course, any time a tattoo is put on for a specific reason, it means it is special. Why all the questions, are you thinking of getting one?"

"No Mister Dwalin, I wanna be a tattoo!"Dwalin looks surprised at Conners answer, chuckling to himself when it wears off.

"Are you sure you don't mean get one lad?"

"Actually, I think he actually means be one."Cricket says to him."Some dragons can apparently turn into tattoos if they have a bondmate, and can rest or hide as one on their skin."

"You've gotta be joking!"

"Nope, according to the journals its true. They just don't have instructions on how to do it, so I have no idea how to train him to, if he even can."

*I can! Momma could, I saw her memory of it, she was pretty and sparkly and glowy as a tattoo. I think I can too!"

"Did it happen to show you how she did it?"

*...No. It just shows her closing her eyes and shrinking, then she was a tattoo.*

Dwalin takes this all in and seems to think about it for a moment."Lets experiment then. Conner, close your eyes for me."Conner cocks his head at him before doing as he asked, Cricket looking on curiously, as well as Kili and Fili."Now, tell me, what kind of tattoo would you wan to be?"

*Just a small version of me, silly. What else would I be?*

"Just asking. Imagine a tiny version of you then. Where on Cricket would you be?"

*I think on her wrist, wrapped around. I can move around though.*

"Ok then. Can you imagine the tiny you on her wrist now? Block everything else out, and imagine yourself doing it."

*Um...I can try.* Conner seems to concentrate very hard, and as the four of them look on in wonder he seems to shimmer and shrink, the shimmer moving to her before stopping and settling over her wrist. Conner then turns completely to shimmer, reapearing on her wrist in the form of a tiny, twisting blue dragon, tail and wings wrapped around her wrist.

She stares at Dwalin in shock."How did yo get him to do that?"

"I didn't do anything, lass." He says grinning at her."Just an old warriors trick for teaching fighters a new move, nothing special. Just close your eyes and imagine what you want to do, blocking out everything else."

"See, this is one of the reasons you're a badass."She says grinning at him, making his cheeks reden before putting his normal gruff expression back on after seeing Kili laughing silently at the exchange.

*Can I open my eyes now?*She hears Conner say.*I feel all tingly.*

*As you should, you silly little dragon*She sends back to him.*Look where you are!* She sees the dragon on her wrist open its eyes, then as it realizes where it is, it flows up and down her arm in delight.

*I did it, I did it. i'm a tattoo!* he says excitedly, and as they peer closer the tattoo shimmers and turns back into full-sized Conner, who is twitching in joy.*Thank you mister Dwalin sir! Now when I don't want people to see me I can hide!*

Dwalin just smiles in good humour at the bouncing dragonling."Don't thank me, any skill you can learn to make things easier on us can only be better for the quest. As it is, Thorin should be glad we can hide you from others."

"Either way Dwalin, thank you." She says to him as Conner practices becoming a tattoo more.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Kili, however, Conner had found a kindred spirit, and he almost like the bowman as much as he loved Cricket.

While Cricket was like a surragate mother to him, and was his all-around companion and world, Kili was his best friend.

Kili was the one sitting beside Cricket, learning how to feed and care for Conner. Kili was the one Conner would run to for extra bits of food off his plate. While Cricket would train with Nori, Dwalin or Fili, Conner and Kili would be close by playing some sort of game, telling stories or getting into trouble, usually which ended with the both of them running for cover behind her from whoever they pranked.

She was very convinced that Kili would be the reason that the rest of the dwarves would end up trusting Conner. It made her smile, knowing that the dwarf often felt out of place with the rest of his kin, and that the little dragon made him feel accepted, almost as much as his brother did. The two of them were good for one another, and far be it for her to seperate them over a couple of silly pranks.

In fact, thats who Conner was playing with their final night at Beorns, with Thorin looking at them out of the corner of his eye. He obviously didn't approve, and Cricket couldn't find a single moment to give a care. Niether, it seemed, did Fili and Kili, as they threw bits of food in the air for Conner to jump up and catch, while everyone else went over the plans for tomorrow.

Beorn was lending them ponies for until they made it to Mirkwood, for everyone except for Cricket, who never actually did get a lesson on how to ride in between learning everything else. He was also sending them off with a water canteen and two weeks of food each, as well as map of Mirkwood with a safish path marked. Not that he suggested going in at all, but it was the fastest way through.

Crickets attention wavered between the plans and the dragon jumping back and forth between her and the princes, trying to catch the bits of bread and cheese they were throwing. Every so often she would catch Bofur glancing over at her as she giggles at the leaping Conner, looking away quickly when she caught him looking, bringing a smile to her face at the handsome dwarf being so unusually shy.

"And you, little bug, are you sure you want to go with them through that unholy place, especially with your new charge?" Cricket looks up to see Beorn looking down at her conerned."You could always stay here and continue training the little on in a safe place. It would be my honor to house you."

"Thank you for the offer, and believe me it is tempting, but you know I can't. I signed a contract, and I want to make sure they all make it safely through this stupid quest. Besides, I may still find a way back home somehow by traveling with them."

He sighs and pats her head affectionately."I knew you would say that, but still wanted to offer. You and Conner are welcome here anytime. In the meantime.." he says grinning at her"I have something special for you." He pulls a small leather flask out from behind his back and hands it to her, etched with a small flying dragon.

"Is this..?"

"Some of my whiskey, just without the special herbs this time." He says winking at her."I thought it might keep you warm on those cold nights in the forest. Just a sip at a time should last you quite a while."

"Thank you!" She says, standing and giving him a hug."You're a good friend Beorn, and I'm glad I got a chance to meet you."

"The same to you, little bug. Try to look after these dwarves of yours, they seem to be in a habit of getting into trouble."

She laughs, shaking her head."I will try, but it's quite a task you've given me."

She hears a loud thump then, and looks over to see Conner jumping off of Fili's head and spreading his wings, sailing a bit before toughing the ground. Kili lets out a whoop in victory for him as Conner gives a dragony smile at her, turning around and jumping back onto Kili's shoulders as he congradulates him.

"Cricket, did you see that, he flew! It was only for a second, but still!"

*I flew, I flew, did you see me!*

"Haha I did, good job!"

*Imma do it again, watch me!*

"Just be careful, you're still..."She stops as he jumps off Kili's shoulder and towards her, spreading his wings again, only to end up swerving towards the wall and..

Thump!

As he slides down the wall in a daze, she tries not to laugh as she goes over to check on him, picking him up and cradling him in her arms."Are you ok? I told you to be careful, goofball."

Conner merely looks up at her and grins.*I flew!*  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning they were all ready to leave, the ponies saddled and loaded, the only thing left to do bing to climb on and go. Conner would be riding with Kili, as he didn't want to be in tattoo form while they traveled, and wouldn't fall off the pony with Kili keeping an eye on him, especially with Cricket already riding with someone else. She made them both promise no to act up, and they gave her a hurt look she promptly ignored.

After climbing on the back of the pony with Fili, they set off towards the Mirkwood, the shadow of Beorn in bear-form following them the entire way. Cricket was relieved by this knowing that for at least for this part of the trip no one would be following them that wanted them dead.

About halfway to the forest, Gandalf pulled up beside Cricket and Fili, craggy face drawn in worry."Cricket, I have been meaning to speak with you about something since Conners hatching."

"Ok, whats up?

"I don't suppose you would be good enought to pull back to the end of the company Fili, so I might talk to the both of you in private about it?"

Cricket and Fili glance at each other before nodding, slowing the pony enough that they end up in the back with Gandalf. Bofur glances back curiously but doesn't say anything, and Cricket looks over at the wizard."Ok, whats such a big deal you don't want anyone else to know?"

"Yes wizard, what are you keeping from my uncle?" Kili asks raising an eyebrow.

"It will be up to Cricket wether she the information I am about to give you is made known, I simply want to discuss it before we part ways."

"All right then, spill."

"The journals Galadriel gave you...did it mention anything about the positions of dragons and their bondmates?"

"A bit, mainly names, no descriptions, why?"

Gandalf sighs heavily. "Thats what I thought. Let me give you what I can. In dragon society, bondmates are a rarity, except for royalty. Thus, dragons with a bondmate were highly respected, along with their bondmate. Not only for the powers and responsibility it bestowed, but for the fact they were considered complete as well. Even among that, certain positions were considered more importaont to others, especially to those that weren't actually dragons."

"You mean like the royal guardian, and dragonknight?" Asks Cricket, getting a slow nod from Gandalf. Fili listened closely, keeping his eyes on the ponies in front of them.

"Correct. However, as important as royal guardians actually were to the dragons and their royalty, the dragonknight was considered just as important, if not more so considering all they accomplished. The dragonknight served as a protector to all the realms and peoples, guarding middle-earth and everything aroung it, land and sea, from any evils that dared threaten it. Typically, each major kingdom would keep a special apartment for the dragonknight when then they visited, large enough for both of them if the dragon stayed in large form. They were known for not staying in the dragon realm, but visiting all the lands, checking for signs of evil, mediating between unbonded dragons and races trying to make contracts with them, leading the dragons if it ever came to war, and staying by the Dragon Monarchs side when they would visit other kingdoms as well."

"It sounds like they did more than the ruler."

"They often did, though the monarch had duties of theit own. It also helped that, as the name suggests, both the dragon and the knight that bonded to it were skilled warriors, if not before the bonding then soon afterward."

"Thats all well and good, but what does any of this have to do with Cricket?" Fili asked, frowning. Cricket nodded her head in agreement, looking to Gandalf for an answer.

"Dragonknights, once bonded, recieve a special mark on the neck , usually a series of intricate swirls the same color as their dragons scales. It is a mark of their position."

Cricket pales, her hand automatically going to cover the mark spreading from her neck to her shoulder."So you're telling me I'm one of these Dragonknights, simply because of the mark on my neck? The one that goes out to my shoulder?"

"While that is a little larger than the average mark..yes, I'm afraid so. I wish I could tell you otherwise, instead of burdening you even further, but you needed to know."

Cricket goes silent, staring at the small of Fili's back as they continue to travel along, trying to process everything. She glances up for a moment to see Conner sleeping on Kili's shoulders.

"So let me get this straight." She says finally, looking up at Gandalf."You're telling me that not only is there a chance I may not make it home, and that the quest won't succeed without me...Now I'm supposed to become some great protector? All at the same time taking care of a baby dragon? Whats next, am I supposed to defeat Smaug on my own? Govern a kingdom? Raise the dead?"

"I realize this is a lot to take in..."

"Do you Gandalf? Really? Because all I have heard since I arrived at the Shire was that I'm supposed to do big things, not worrying what they actually are, and that people will depend on me. And now you are piling more on? You're damn right its a lot to take in, especally from someone not even from this damn world!"

Gandalf looks down, ashamed looking, and Crickets softens, regretting her outburst."I'm sorry Gandalf, I didn't mean to get so upset...its just so much in such a short time. I know none of it is your fault, and that you aren't doing it on purpose. I just need time to absorb it, that's all."

Gandalf relaxes, his face not looking so sad."You are right about that my dear. Hopefully you will have the time you need while traveling through Mirkwood, just be careful not to get too lost in your thoughts."

"And if it gets to be too much, just remember you can talk to us if you need to."Fili says, squeezing her hand from the front and smiling reasuringly."You shouldn't have to deal with any of this alone."

"Thanks Fili." she says, squeezing his hand back.

After that they catch back up to the rest of the group. Bofur glances over again as they do, having heard most of their conversation, and feeling much sadness for the poor girl as he notices the slightly forlorne look on Crickets face as they pass by. He vowed he would do what he could to make everything a bit easier on her, however he could, whenever he could.

As they plod on, Mirkwood looms in the distance, and Cricket gets a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach as they get closer, and suppresses a shiver.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three days after splitting with Gandalf and entering the forest, the company was starting to get stir-crazy from the constant dark trees, with no sigh of sunlight. Everytime the started a fire, bats and moths would almost swarm it. The only good thing that came from that was that Conner got more flying practice in as he chased them, but not eating the moths as he said he didn't like the dusty feeling they left in his mouth. He did, though, eat some of the bats. The first one he caught, however, he brought to Cricket and dropped proudly at her feet, looking up at her happily.

She had looked at it the way she did the still twitching mouse her cat had brought to the front door once, Nori and Dwalin snorting quietly beside her, and patted Conner on the head, prompting him to crown happily and go off to catch another one.

"You know." Bofur said, leaning over to her with a smile on his face."He is actually a lot like a puppy at times. A small, flying, sharp- toothed, fire-breathing puppy."

"Yea, I know. And Kili just eggs it on." To prove a point she inclines her head towards Kili throwing a dead bat in the air for Conner to catch.

"Aye, but its keeping them happy, and the rest of the company in better spirits by watching them, except maybe Thorin, so ya can't complain too much, lass."

"When it wasn't the moths and bats, it was the spiderwebs, and the constant feeling of being watched.

*Mama Cricket?* She sighs at the nickname that Kili convinced Conner was a good idea to call her.

*Yes, what is it?*

*I saw eyes watching us, but they went away.*

*You didn't go into the dark by yourself again, did you?*

*No, its scary, and the eyes were bigger than me.*

That part was particuraly creepy, and she had him stay with her for a while afterwards.

After another day of traveling, they come to a great black river, with a boat on, wouldn't you know it, the other side. They ended up having Dwalin toss a hook rope at it, pulling it over to them, then Kili shot an arrow at a tree on the other side, with one end tied to another tree on their side, that way they could pull themselves across, since there was no oars.

They ended up doing it in two groups, as not to overhaul the little boat, with Bombur, Bofur, Bifur, Kili and Cricket and the second round, since Bomburs's trip needed to be quite a bit lighter his time round. Cricket looks nervously around as they cross, not wanting to dare touching the evil looking water, glad Conner had already crossed over with Dwalin. They had almost made it across when Bombur sighed in relief, everyone glad to get out of the boat.

And thats when it happened.

Bomber, wanting out of the boat fast, got a little overexcited when exiting after Bifur, and ended up toppling the boat over, sending Bofur, Kili and Cricket all into the murky water. The last thing she heard was the company yelling their names, trying to get them out, as the blackness overtook her.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she came back to, there was a bright light over her, and once she let her eyes adjust, she realized it was the sun.

"Hey there, we were worried you wouldn't wake up." Said Bofurs voice, and she feels hands lifting her to her feet.

"Argh, how long was I out...did we finally make it out of the stupid forest? Its so bright outside!"

"Hehe..."Bofur laughs nervously,"Bout that, lass.."

"Whats wrong?" She opens her eyes the rest of the way to see they are in a pretty wooded area, standing on a firm...trail? She looks down to see a rock trail beneath her feet...which are somehow clad in tennis shoes again. And her legs have blue jeans on. And there is a heavy branch next to where they picked her up. And her head hurts something fierce, like she had been knocked out.

She stumbles backwards as she hears a loud car radio in the distance, and feels the hands grab and steady her."Are we...where I think we are?"

"I dont know." Kili says from beside her, sounding a bit freaked out."We were hoping you could tell us."

"I...I think we are back in my world."She says as she hears a fire truck in the distance. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know, but that would certainly explain a couple of things, lass."

"Like what?" she asks, turning around, gasping when she does."Holy shit!"

_OOOOOOHHH Cliffhanger! I have been looking forward to this part, so keep reading, and if you like it so far let me know, comments are life._


	14. Interlude

_Kind of a short chapter, but I have a major one coming up, for all of you ready to see what happens with the three back in Crickets world._

The rest of the company jumped into action as soon as they saw the boat tip over, emptying its occupants into the water. As they work to rescue Kili, Bofur and Cricket from the black water, Conners flaps over, not understanding why they just don't swim out, and why everyone was so freaked out, until they drag the bodies to shore, all three still and barely unconscious.

Thorin dropped to his knees next to Kili, a haunted look in his eyes as he stares down at his nephew, Fili standing behind him with his hand on his shoulder. Bombur and Bifur stand over Bofur, Bombur beating himself on the inside for being so impatient about the damn boat, while Oin checks the two of them over, checking for signs of life. Dwalin lies Cricket on the ground, normally gruff face drawn in worry, while Nori gets down on his hands and knees to listen to her chest.

He stops and looks up when he feels Conner land on her chest, nudging her face with his nose, making little whining noises at her, wondering why she won't wake up.

*Mister Dwalin, why won't mama Cricket and Kili wake up? Whats wrong with them?*He says, sounding like a toddler about to cry.

"I don't know lad...Beorn warned us not to drink the water, but he didn't say anything about what would happen if we took a swim in it. I'm guessing it's not good though."

"Well, whatever it is, there isn't any water in their lungs, which is actually a bit strange considering." Oin says standing up from where he was checking over Kili."It doesn't seem like they swallowed any of it at all, which is the only good thing about this whole mess."

"Aye, I didn't hear any in Cricket's either," Nori add, staying on the ground next to her.

"Damn this cursed place." Thorin whispers from Kili's side, face white, Bilbo looking at him in concern."Not only has it taken a nephew from me, it has taken two members of my company! Blast that wizard for not coming with us, for insisting we take this damned route!"

"Thorin calm down, you talk as if they are already dead!" Fili says, trying to talk some sense into his uncle."I am just as worried as you, but we must stay calm! At the very least, the one thing that we know is that they aren't dead, they are still alive and breathing!"

"How do you know!" Thorin yells at him"How do you know they aren't slowly dying, wasting away from that black water?"

"Because of Conner."

That sets Thorin aback, and they all glance over at where the little dragon is still trying to wake Cricket."What does that dragon have to do with anything?"

"If Cricket was dead or dying, he would know. It hits a dragon hard when their bondmate dies, and visa versa. If she isn't dying, chances are that they aren't either."

Thorin looks at Fili suspiciously."How do yo know all this? I don't remember dragons being part of your lessons growing up."

"The journals Cricket was given in Rivendale, she shared everything she learned with me, and I would help her translate part of it. Go on, talk to him, ask him if he senses anything."

Thorin frowns at Fili for a moment before looking again to where Conner was now curled up on Crickets chest. Burying his pride, he stands up and walks over to her prone body, kneeling next to Nori. Nori looks at Thorin curiously but doesn't question his being there, he simply stays and listens.

"Dragon...Conner I mean. May I ask you a question?"

Conner looks up sniffling at Thorin, a bit surprised he is there, squeaking nervously as he looks at the distraught king.*You're the angry man...are you going to yell at me again?*

"No." Thorin said to me, softening his voice."Like I said, I just need to ask you a question."

*Ok..what do you wanna ask me?*

"My nephew said you would be able to tell if Cricket was close to death. Is that true?"

*Uh huh.*

*Tell me then, is she now? Because if she isn't, there is a good chance that Kili and Bofur aren't either. Please, can you tell me, do you sense anything, anything at all?" As he finishes, he voice takes on a pleading tone, and Dwalin looks on, shocked, as he had only heard Thorin this upset a handful of times.

Conners looks at him and nods, looking back to Cricket and putting his tiny forehead against hers, and the tattoo on her neck begins to glow softly. After a moment he stops and looks back up at Thorin.*She isn't dead.* He says, voice sounding a bit more hopeful.*Its like she is in a very deep sleep.*

Thorins shoulders slump in relief at the good news."Thank you. That relieves some of my worry at least. I owe you little one. I..I am sorry I yelled at you before."

*You're welcome. Its weird though, usually I can tell when she is dreaming, but this time it's like she isn't here. She's alive, but somewhere else.*

Balin furrows his brow in thought."So its like her body is here...but not her mind?"

*That's what it feels like. Is mama Cricket gonna wake up soon?*

They all look sadly at the baby dragon, not knowing what to say to make him feel better. Finally Bilbo comes up and kneels next to him, gently stroking the dejected dragons back."Soon little one, I promise. We will make sure to take good care of her until she does. Until then, why don't you stick with one of us, that way you can tell us if you feel any changes, all right? She will wake up before you know it." Conners looks and him and nods slowly.

*Ok.* he says before curling up back into a ball on her chest.

Bilbo then looks over to Thorin."So what do we do now? We can't leave them here, and if we stay we will run out of food and water."

"We keep going." Thorin says, voice back to his commanding tone."If they are still like this once we exit this accursed forest, we will figure out what to do from there. For now we need to lift them and keep moving." The rest of the company nods in agreement and moves to pick up everything to move forward.

Bombur takes Bofur and slings him over his shoulder, still guilty about being the one to put him in this predicament. Bifur takes his weapon and makes sure his hat is firmly on his head.~The only good thing about this is that Bofur isn't extremely heavy~ he signs to his cousin.~If it had been you that had fallen in, it would be a much different story~

Bombur grunts as he adjusts his brother on his shoulder."True, but he's still heavy, just smaller than me. Muscle weighs the same as fat, remember? It's just more compact and contained. You think he's light, you carry him."

~No thanks, you're doing fine.~

Thorin carries Kili himself, promising to switch with Fili after a while so he don't get overtired. As he bends over to pick Kili up, he looks tenderly at his nephews face, pressing his forehead to Kili's for a moment before picking him up, putting him over his shoulder as well, while Fili takes his bow and arrows.

Nori and Dwalin almost seem to be silently arguing between each other for a moment before Dwalin sighs."Little one," he says to Conner."we are going to lift her now. Why don't you travel with me for a bit? Nori, if you can lift her, I'll carry her bag. Her blades are pretty light, so you shouldn't have to worry too much about them."

Nori looks at Dwalin and nods silently, while Conner jumps off her chest, allowing them to sit her up and slide the backpack off. Conner then is picked up by Dwalin, who sets him on his shoulders.*Why can't I be a tattoo?*

"Because we need you to let us know if you sense something, and I'm not sure what will happen to you if you become a tattoo while she is like this. Besides, she would want you to keep practicing flying, and maybe we can even teach you to breathe fire."

Conner pouts on Dwalin's shoulder but doesn't argue. Once the bag is off and on Dwalin's back, Nori lifts Cricket into his arms gently and stands up, not bothering to sling her on his shoulder like the others. When he sees the companies questioning looks he lifts and eyebrow."What? I can afford to carry her this way, she isn't heavy like the rest of you lot. Besides, i'm not sure she would appreciate being slung over my shoulder like a bag of flour."

No one argues his point, and they all set back down the path, spirits now lowered considerably.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three days later the shit really hits the fan.

Thorin had spotted elves on the path and, in true Thorin fashion, had the company veer of the path to go around them, not wishing to be caught, despite everyone voicing their concerns at doing exactly what Beorn and Gandalf had told them not to do.

Doing so ended up putting them directly in the middle of a nest filled with huge spiders, and one by one the company was picked off, being bitten by the spiders and left there for the venom to render them frozen. Eventually it was only Fili and Conner left, both standing over the bodies of the sleeping three, Conners growling and biting at any leg that got to close, Fili holding out his swords and watching as the spiders inched closer.

Fili could have sworn that he saw Bilbo vanish into thin air, but was more concerned about staying long enough to protect his brother's body. However, at one point it did seem like something unseen was attacking the giant spiders, and he wasn't going to question any help that he received. At one point Conner even managed to blow a bit of burning steam at one particularly close spider, causing it to gasp in pain and back off.

Thankfully(or not, depending on if you held Thorin's point of view on things), the regiment of elves they saw on the path burst through the trees, just as Fili's strength was beginning to wane, quickly dispatching of the spiders, before turning and aiming their bows at Fili. Conner perched himself on Crickets chest to try to block her from harm, while Fili looked around cautiously at his kind of rescuers. A blonde, male elf separated himself from the rest and stepped forward, eyes flickering over to Conner in brief surprise before coming back to Fili.

"What are you doing in these woods, dwarf, without asking permission to even be here? He asks with a sneer.

"We were simply passing through, elf. We did not know we needed your permission to do so."

"Not my permission, but my fathers. Not that it matters now. You shall be taken back with us, and you can explain your trespassing yourself. Perhaps if your reason is good enough, you won't be punished."

The other dwarves had started to stir, the venom starting to wear off, and the other elves promptly frisk them for weapons, taking each one capture, much to their displeasure. Fili stares down at his comatose brother and makes a quick decision.

"Wait! We..need your help." Fili ignores the look Thorin throws him and stares straight ahead at the lead elf, more interested in getting help for his brother and the others than to worry about his uncle's pride.

The blonde elf turns around and looks at him from where he was questioning Gloin"What could you possibly need our help with dwarf? The rest of your company has had the venom wear off, and the spiders are gone. What more is there?"

"The problem is, three of our companions fell into the black river, and still haven't woken up. We know, they aren't dead, or even dying yet, but don't want tp take the chance that they might. We have no idea what to do."

The elf frowns and looks down at the three."How do you know they aren't dying yet?"

*Um, I told them.* Conner said quietly from Crickets chest, getting a slightly shocked look from the elf, whose face resumes its normal expression before cautiously coming down to check on the sleeping bodies himself, keeping one eye on Conner as he does so. When he comes to Cricket, spying the mark on her neck, he gets a strange look in his eye before looking full on at Conner, who was watching him check on her.*Will you please help mama Cricket? She really needs to wake up.*

The elf nods silently at the young dragon and stands up, strangely seeming to come to terms to it being there very quickly,and faces Fili."This..changes things a bit. We will still take you to the palace, and help these three once we get there the best we can. You are still going to the dungeons as well, so we can get the whole story from you." he starts to walk away then pauses, glancing at Cricket again."Is she..what I think she is?" He asks Fili quietly.

"If you mean a bondmate, then yes." Fili says, glaring at him, at the strange way he looks at her. Nori comes back forwards and lifts Cricket into his arms again, Conner turning into a tattoo this time and landing around her neck, while the elves look on in a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. Thorin glares at Fili before they are herded through the forest, and he just sighs and walks forward, not looking forward to the talk he knows is coming.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as they enter the palace, three asleep are taken from them and brought upstairs, while the rest are put into individual cells to be questioned later. Fili is told by the elf, whose name is apparently Legolas, that Thranduil would most likely meet with them in the morning to find out their reason for being in Mirkwood.

All he really cares about at this point is that his brother and the others are going to get some help, and that they aren't surrounded by giant spiders anymore. Unfortunately, those were literally the only reasons for being happy about being trapped in the dungeons on the ElvenKing.

He leans back against the wall of his cell and sighs.

At least he is too far from Thorin for a chastising.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prince Legolas walks quietly into his fathers study. His fathers back is too him, as he had observed the dwarves entering his palace from the balcony, and Legolas clears his throat to announce his presence. Thranduil glances back, acknowledging he is there.

"How many dwarves?"

"Thirteen."

"And there reason for being in my woods?"

"They won't say, typical stubborn dwarves. Two pf them even manages to fall into the black river, and are now sleeping in the healers quarters."

Thranduil sniffs disdainfully."Typical indeed. As soon as they wake, send them to the dungeon with the others. I will question them tomorrow."

Legolas nods but doesn't moves, and Thranduil looks at him, cocking his head to the side."Your stances leads me to believe there is more."

Legolas nods."The dwarves weren't alone. There was a young woman with them, not a dwarf, clothes of elven make, eagle feather in her hair, and a strange blue mark on her neck. And there is more."

Thranduil cocks an eyebrow at him."You have peaked my interest. What more could there be that could possibly mean anything to me, however?"

"Because, father, she had a baby dragon with her. One that was protecting her from the spiders. And that turned into a tattoo around her neck." At Thranduils silence he continues."The mark on her neck...it looked like mothers. And the dwarf confirmed she is the dragons bondmate."

Thranduils eyes widen for a moment before he closes them and turns around, a small smile on his lips."As soon as she wakes, bring her to me." He pauses for a moment then adds"And feed the dragon, you know how hatchlings can get while they are still learning their powers. It will likely be back to normal by now, still worried about her."

Legolas nods and walks briskly away to fetch a plate of food for Conner before heading to the healers quarters. He was eager to see what kind of person she was, that the dragon had decided to bond with her, considering he was the child of a dragons bondmate himself.

Thranduil merely continued to face the forest, much on his mind, the knowledge of the first dragon bondmate in over 150 years adding to his musings.

He wonders what it would take to lure her away from her gold-addled, dwarven companions, and smiles conspiritorily to himself.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bilbo had followed the group, unseen, all the way back to the palace, barely managing to slip in before the shut the massive doors. He doesn't stop following until they split the group up, taking the unconscious ones upstairs, and quickly has to decide which group to follow.

He ends up following them down to the dungeons, that way he can try to get a chance to tell them he is there. As he watches the elves put all of them in cells he waits in a corner, until the elves leave for the upper area of the palace. Walking quietly to the first cell he sees, he peeks in and sees Balin sitting on a cot. Looking around to make sure no one is around, he knocks gently on the bars.

Balin starts and looks around, confused when no one is there. Huffing, Bilbo backs up and slips off the ring, coming back into view."Master Baggins, you're alive!" Balin exclaims, before remembering where he is and lowers his voice."How did you manage to get in without being captured?"

"I will tell you later, for now I just wanted to check on all of you, make sure you are ok, let you know I didn't run off."

"No one would think that laddie."Balin says gently."By Mahal, you are a first class burglar after all! Did you happen to see where they took the boys and Cricket?"

"Somewhere upstairs. I am going to see if I can find them after I check on everyone, then somehow we need to find a way out of here. I must say, this is not what I expected from elves."

"Not all elves are the same laddie, though Thorin might tell you differently. We are all to speak with their king in the morning, so he can question us as to our reason for being in these woods. If he finds out the true reason, we will very likely need an escape plan after all."

Bilbo frowns as he messes with the ring in his pocket."All right. I am going to check on the others, then see if I can find wherever they put our friends. I will be back."

"Good luck Master Baggins."

One by one, Bilbo stops by each dwarves cell to let them know he was there, stopping a little longer at Thorins to chat, before heading upstairs, and towards the area he saw them taking the three.

"Blast it all, why are there so many hallways? At this rate I will never find them." He says after an hour of searching, sitting down on a bench to catch his breath."Why can't they be like a normal person and have signs, or something."

Sitting there invisible he watches elves go by, jumping to his feet when he sees one in a healers robe pass by, thinking that surely they must be heading the way he needs to go. He follows the elf for about 15 minutes before they come to a calming white room, full of elves wearing the same robes, long hair pulled back out of their faces. Walking cautiously in he has to stop himself from yelling in triumph when he sees the three of them all lying next to each other on beds. Creeping forward he notices that they seem to have been pushed closer together, and that the three of them seem to holding hands.

As he come around the corner, he suddenly comes to a stop as he sees Legolas sitting next to the beds, a plate of what looks like sliced meats, mushrooms and cheeses on his lap, half of it already gone, talking and smiling to Conner. As he watches the elf hands his a piece of what looks like fish, and after sniffing it Conners gives it a little nibble, then takes it from Legolas and chomping it down with glee. Legolas seems to smile and take another piece off the plate, handing it to the baby dragon gently.

Cocking his head to the side in surprise at the sight, he gets distracted as one of the healers pass by with three needles on a silver platter, stopping next to the unconscious three and setting it down.

"Your highness its time." She says to Legolas, and he nods for her continue.

"You said your name is Conner, correct? Well Conner, this person here is about to give your Cricket something to help wake her up, is that ok?"

*Yes please. I want her to wake up, I miss her. And she needs to try some of this yummy food.*

Legolas laughs and stands up."I bet you do miss her. If you would like to lay next to her, she should wake up within the next hour, then we can give her some of the food."

*Ok!* Said the excited Conner as he jumped back on the bed, startling the healers, and cuddles into her side, waiting for her to wake up. Thankfully she had already gave Cricket the medicine to wake her up, and now all they could do is wait.

Bilbo listens in and settles into a corner of the room that allows his to keep an eye on the three, and begins to wait, hoping the medicine works after all, so he can bring the rest of the company good news.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Almost an hour later, the three of them begin to stir.

_Still changing stuff, I know. But, in my defense, we don't know anything about Legolas's mother, so I'm not messing up her story in the slightest. So there._

_Next up, Dwarves in the city!_


	15. Dwarrows in Crickets world

**Dwarves in the real** world!_ I own nothing used here except for Kait and Cricket._

_Oh and a warning...major Bofur feels...and bit of action finally._

Meanwhile, back in Crickets world, she was trying to wrap around a couple of hard to believe things. Like that her hair was back to its original size, the tattoo on her neck was gone and...

"Holy shit!"She repeated, more for herself than anything else, staring at the two dwarves in front of her.

"Aye, exactly our thinking lass." Said Bofur, smiling weakly at her. Kili nods furiously, unusually silent, and Cricket just continues to stare unbelievingly at them, mouth agape."You know, if your mouth stays open like that, some wee creature will make a nest in there."

"But you're.."

"Aye, go on, say it."

"You're tall!"

And indeed, they actually were. Both were now a full head taller than her, and their clothes were stretched to the limit over their lengthened bodies, making them look like children who had outgrown their pants. Luckily Bofurs had been a bit baggy in the first place, but poor Kili was fidgeting and pulling at his shirt, trying to get some breathing room. Bofur had taken off most of his layers and had them in a pile next to him.

"That was the first thing we noticed, obviously, when our trousers were a bit tight, and not in the normal way." Bofur said as an ambulance went off in the distance, causing them to look around in alarm before coming back to her when they saw she wasn't alarmed."Then we saw you on the ground in your old clothes, and figured something big had happened."

"I can barely breathe in my own clothes now! And what's that noise, is it some kind of beast?"Kili said, looking around for the source of the noise. Cricket finally comes to her senses and looks over to Kili.

"It's not a beast it's an ambulance. And yea, I don't doubt you can't breathe, seeing how stretched they are now. I'm pretty sure that's why corsets are the devil."

"What's an ambulance?" Kili asks, Bofur looking just as curious.

"Remember the picture of my car I showed you?"They both nod."An ambulance is like a much bigger version of my car, that goes to injured people to pick them up and take them to a doc...healer. That sound means to get out of their way."She tries her best to explain it in a way they would understand, knowing full well Kili would just keep asking questions every time he didn't get something. Surprisingly enough, Bofur asks the next one.

"So lass, any idea how we got here?"

She looks over and shakes her head slowly."No idea. The last thing I remember is falling into that black river."

"Me too!"

"The same for me. Bombur was a little overenthusiastic about getting out of the boat."

"Yea." Grumbles Kili as he finally stops messing with his clothes."He tipped the entire thing over!"

"It's not his fault laddie, we all wanted out as much as him. His weight just kind of got the better of him this time. Usually he is a lot more graceful about carrying it, but every once in a while he forgets."

"We can't really blame anyone. Beorn never told us what would happen if we drank it, much less swam in it, he just told us not to do it. Not that any of us would anyway, from simply looking at it. What matters now is that somehow, we're back in my home instead of yours."She pauses and looks around the area."Looks like my backpack and hammer are both missing, probably back with everyone else." She sticks her hands in her jean and jacket pockets, pulling out keys, wallet, and her phone."Well, that's a bit of luck. I suppose since they were originally in my pocket the first time I traveled, they would still be there when I came back. Means I can drive, get into my apartment, pay for stuff, and still get calls. Weird though, does it really make sense that they would come back, and not my backpack?"

"Don't ask me, it's all new to the both of us." Bofur says holding his hands up, Kili nodding his head in agreement."Maybe we should relocate for now, get a spot of food perhaps?"

"And find some better fitting clothes!" Kili cries, as his pants bust a bit at the seams, and Cricket holds back a laugh, while Bofur hides his behind his hand."It's not funny, I don't wanna walk around a strange place naked."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Bofur jokes, and Kili's face turns red.

"That doesn't count, I had been drinking, and everyone else was doing it. Not my fault it happened to be in the elves fountain."

"Hey, as one of the ones that did it as well, I'm not blaming ya. Just reminding ya."

"You're the one that broke their chairs apart for a fire."

"You sat next to said fire and enjoyed it with the rest of us."

"Something tells me I'm glad I missed that part of Rivendale." Cricket says laughing."As to relocating and clothes, that's probably a good idea. Lets go before either of you lose them."

They both nod and pick up their stuff on the ground, following her as she leads them up the path to the main park area, and hopefully to her car."Now remember, you're in my world now, and it's quite a bit different from yours. If you mention the kind of traveling we have done, you will most likely be thrown in a mental institution, or people will just assume you're joking. I will try my best to teach you some basics while we are here, considering we have no idea how long this will last."

"Please, how different could it really be?" Kili scoffs."The only strange thing to me so far is how you are used to being so far off the ground, heightwise."

Cricket is about to answer him, the park coming into view, when a young couple jogs quickly by, causing the two of them to stop and stare at their tight jogging shorts, the woman wearing a tank top while the man is shirtless. As they continue to stare, mouths agape, Cricket can't help but smirk. "What were you saying about it not being that different?"

"Bloody hell, they're practically naked!" Bofur exclaims, swearing to himself, while Kili turns bright red and averts his eyes."Is that how everyone dresses here?"

"Cripes no, not everyone. Or, I should say, not all the time. Those two are just exercising, so see little point in wearing many clothes. Besides, its summer, and it's hot outside."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you dress like that?"

She glances over at Bofur as they walk."I may have one or two outfits." At his grin she rolls her eyes and keeps walking, noticing several people shooting them glances as they walk. One family openly stares, and a little boy comes running up to Bofur and tugs on his pants.

"Hey mister?" Bofur looks down and smiles at the child.

"Yes lad?"

As the little boys mom comes running up with a look of horror on her face, the boy continues."How come you are dressed up so strange?"

Bofur looks to Cricket as the mom gets to them, questioning look on his face."I'm so sorry, I have told him not to just run up to random people and talk to them! Johnny, you know better!"

"But mom, he is dressed funny, and I wanted to know why!"

"It's fine mam, don't worry about it...my friends here are..."She wracks her brain, and quickly comes up with an answer."Cosplaying! Yes, they are cosplaying, getting ready for a con coming up, and my friends mom accidentally washed their clothes on the wrong setting, making them shrink. They were out here seeing how bad it really was."

"Oh...ok, that makes sense, I suppose. My older son does that sort of thing." As she leads the little boy away, he turns and waves at Bofur, who waves back with a grin. Kili leans closer to Cricket and whispers to her.

"Um, what's cosplay?"

She grins."Remember me telling you about the X-Men?" Kili nods."Well, cosplay is when people dress up like the X-men and other fictional characters they like for fun. It's the only thing I could really think of, under the circumstances."

As they weave through the cars in the parking lot, Kili and Bofur look at each one in awe, Kili poking one every so often, starting at how warm they were under the heat, not expecting most of it to be made of metal. Cricket sighs in relief to see her car still in the lot, not really knowing what to expect. Walking up to it she unlocks the back door and opens it up for them."Get in."

Kili looks in suspiciously."And do what?"

"Just, you know, sit. Go all the way to the other end so Bofur can get in too."

After inspecting the inside, Kili moves slowly closer to it, leaning down and getting in head first, crawling along the back seat before awkwardly bringing himself to a sitting position , Cricket giggling as his pants rip a bit more.

"Your turn."She says to Bofur, who lifts an eyebrow at her.

"I don't suppose there's an easier way to get in than they way the lad did?"

She smiles at him."Sure. Put one hand on the top of the car. Now, put your foot...no, your other foot...inside the car, on the bottom. Now lower your body in, onto the seat. Awesome, now put your other limbs in, and you're done!" Bofur grins triumphantly over at Kili, who frowns and sticks his tongue out at him.

"Don't be sour lad, I actually asked how to get in the blasted thing."

"Whatever. I just don't want my clothes ripping anymore."

Cricket closes the door and walks around to the other side, opening the driver side and climbing in. Snapping her seatbelt in she pulls out her phone and plugs it in to the charger, frowning when it shows it only being three hours after she got to the park originally. How can it seriously be the same day she left? Putting it down she turns the car on and rolls down the windows, everyone yelping as the stereo starts blaring the Marilyn Manson version of Sweet Dreams, and she quickly turns it down, looking back to see both of them with their hands over their ears.

"Hehe, sorry about that guys, I forgot I had it so loud."

"By the Maker, you could bust a bloody eardrum with that!"

She shakes her head and puts the car into reverse, wondering what kind of ride she is in for as she pulls out of the park.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As it turns out, 35 Mph was as fast as she could go without the two of them getting carsick. Or freaking out.

As it was, every time they passed another car, Kili thought for sure it was going to hit them, and would tightly grip the back of her seat while yelling obscenities. Luckily she could take mainly back roads home, and by the time they arrived everyone was ready to get out of the car.

Or, as Kili lovingly called it at one point, the moving metal prison of bloody speeding death. And that was the family friendly, not complete version. Bofur actually stared at him in amazement at that one.

Kili literally falls out of the car when its his turn out, and Cricket found herself glad that her sister was already at work for the weekend, and her nephew at the babysitters. She manages to get them upstairs without running into any of her neighbors, and as she walks into her apartment, she closes her eyes and relishes the feeling of air conditioning, something she hasn't felt in who knows how many months. Not only that, but the feeling of being surrounded by her things is almost too intense of a feeling of home for her.

The others walk in to see her standing there misty-eyed in her living room, and each put a hand on her shoulder."Are you ok?" asks Bofur carefully.

"Yea, I'm fine. I just wasn't sure I would ever see this place again, and now that I'm here, it seems unreal. I don't even know how long I get to be back. I'm just...taking it all in, I suppose. Is it silly to be this emotional about it?"

"Not at all." Bofur says, giving her a comforting smile."It's perfectly natural, lass."

"Yea, besides, we're on a quest to see our home again, remember? If anything, we know how you feel better than anyone."

"Aye, so if ya need to cry, go ahead, we certainly won't judge."

"And you have two sets of shoulders to do it on. We're both here for you."

She turns to face the two of them, a single tear running down her cheek."You guys are the best, you know that?"

"Yea, but you can keep telling us." Kili says grinning at her.

She wipes away the tear and pulls the both of them into a tight hug, before pulling back and grinning in return at them."So, how about some temporary clothes that won't rip when you sit down?"

"You're the best sister ever!" Kili says thankfully to her, and she heads to her bedroom to find them something that might fit.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, both of them are wearing long basketball shorts and Xl GameStop shirts, with her in a pair of soft pajama pants and a TeamFourStar shirt, and they are all sitting in the living room munching on popcorn, which is an instant success.

"This is amazing!" Kili says, stuffing in another handful."We need this back home! I can't wait to tell Fili about it!"

"What did you say it was called again lass?" Bofur asks, taking a smaller handful himself as she giggle at the two of them.

"It's called popcorn, and I actually do think we could make it back in your world, if we can get ahold of some uncooked corn kernels."

"That would be great!"

"The things you have come up with here, it's almost unreal! I mean, the kitchen alone has a box that keeps food cold, a box that heats food up fast, and another simply to make toast!"

"Oh, that's nothing."Cricket says with a smirk."I haven't even turned on the TV yet."

"What's a Tv?" Kili asks, barely understandable from his mouthful of popcorn. Cricket grins and grabs her remote, moving her mouse as well so the computer hooked to it will come on as well, and puts it on Hulu. Searching through the videos, she finally come across something she thinks the two of them might enjoy, and clicks on it for the curious two, thankfully used to watching videos on her tablet. They both start as the music comes on, showing rows of cheering people sitting in stands, and two announcers sitting at a podium in front of an obstacle course.

"What is this?" Bofur asks as he moves his popcorn farther away from Kili, who has finished his and was now eyeing Bofurs. Bofur slaps his hand away, and Kili moves to the far side of the couch, sulking.

"Kili don't do that, it makes you look like your uncle when he is brooding. The show is called American Ninja Warrior, and its about men and women competing to complete an intense obstacle course, in areas all over."

"Why?"

"Why does anyone compete in anything? To prove to themselves and others that they can, for the pride of it. Oh, and a giant trophy."

As Kili and Bofur nod in understanding, both eyes riveted on the screen, Cricket feels her phone vibrating, scaring her half to death. Looking down she sees her friend Kait calling, probably about the plans they had originally made for tonight. She groans, having forgotten all about them until now, and looks over to where the two of them are intensely watching the show."Hey guys, I'll be right back." As they wave at her, indicating they heard, she steps quickly into her room and answers, shutting the door."Hello?"

"Cricket! Are you ready for tonight? We're gonna have so much fun, and get off our asses drunk, and flirt with everyone in sight, and.."

"Whoa, whoa Kait, hold on, catch a breath! I may end up having to postpone our celebrations tonight."

"What? No, you can't, you promised! We can't go drinking without you, what if we need someone dumb punched?"

"Yes you can, I promise. And I only did that once. I had something very last-minute come up."

"What could possibly be more important that our drinking plans? Our no strings attached flirting?"

"I..uh, had two out-of-town friends visit out of the blue. Way out of the blue. Another country blue."

"Is that all? That's no biggie, just bring them with us, the more the merrier!"

"Believe me, I would if I could...but they lost their ids. So no going to bars for them."

"You're kidding, that's terrible! Well shit, that really sucks. Are you at least going to the fireworks show still? No ID required for that, and we were planning on sneaking drinks in anyway. Not that we have to sneak them, but still."

"Well, I suppose you do have a point there.."

"Please? That way we can still see each other and have a drink together! And I can meet these mystery friends of you!" Cricket can easily see her face as she pleads over the phone, and rolls her eyes. To describe Kait as excitable was often too tame a term, and chances were she wouldn't let this go until she got her way.

"You know what? Sure, why not. Meet you there at 8 tonight still?"

"Yay, we will get our drinking time after all!"

"Not too much of one, I will still have to drive home."

"Yea yea, I know. You have to wear that blue dress we picked out still!"

"Haha, I will. See you tonight?"

"Definitely. Laterz!" As Cricket hangs up, she lays back on her bed and sighs. Her best friend here just talked her into taking two men from another world to a firework show, surrounded by people drinking.

Yea, this should definitely be interesting, to say the least.

She walks back to the living room after a minute them about the fireworks, and stops in her tracks at the sight before her. There is popcorn everywhere, with Kili and Bofur wrestling on the floor over the leftovers. As Bofur gets Kili into a headlock, he notices Cricket standing there with her arms crossed, face amused, and gives a sheepish grin, while Kili waves at her.

And she wants to take the two of them into public?

She sighs at the two of them, giving a look as they get up off of the floor.

"There is a good explanation for this, I promise.."

"Yea, you wouldn't share your popcorn."

"You had already finished yours!"

"And I was still hungry, it's not my fault you eat so slow!"

"Guys!" She yells at them, causing both of them to stop arguing and look at her, faces turning red."Thats better. Now, how would the both of you like a new set of clothes from here that actually fit you, courtesy of yours truly?"

"What about the ones we're wearing?" Bofur asks, a bit confused.

"Well, for one those are mine, and they are a bit tight on you still. Two, I want to see what you would look like in actual guys clothes from here. Three, as much as you two have helped me back in Middle-Earth, I think I owe you at least that."

Kili looks up for it, but was still hesitant."I don't know lass, are you sure?"

"What if I told you I planned on getting us some beer as well? And that I was taking you to a fireworks show?"

That put a grin on both of their faces."Darlin, you had me at beer."

"Awesome. Lets clean up your mess, then head to Wal-Mart for your new duds. After that, off to the liquor store."

"Sounds like a plan, but for one thing. Whats a Wal-Mart?"

"They have a store that sells nothing but liquor?"

As they walk down the stairs, Cricket wonders once again if taking them into public is a good idea.

"Hey Cricket?"

"Yes Kili?"

"I'm still hungry."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After promising Kili more food after they picked out some clothes,(which honestly, she didn't blame him for being hungry, considering that he had grown nearly a foot in a matter of a couple of hours) they made their way to Wal-Mart, Bofur and Kili both too busy gawking at the city sights to get car sick this time.

Pulling into the parking lot, and parking on the far end, she starts giving them advice as they walk in."Now remember, stay close to me at all times. Oh, and people can be rude here, so don't let them get to you if they act a fool towards you. Also.."

"Lass, it will be alright!" Bofur says chuckling at her."We aren't children, we know how to act around people. Sounds like the ones here are what we are used to as it is. Just relax, it will all be ok."

"I know, just overworrying. Sorry."

"No worries, just lead the way and we'll..be..fine.." He goes silent as they actually enter the store, Kili going still beside him as they stare in wonder at the mass amount of strange and wondrous things around them, and the people bustling back and forth. One woman pulls a cart out and smacks Bofur with it as she passes, not bothering to apologize. As they stare at a shelf filled with 15 different types of chips, Cricket smirks and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"What were you saying again?"

"It's huge!" Says Kili, stepping forward a couple of steps to look down a row."What kind of store is this that so many people are here? It looks like a marketplace!"

"One that sells almost anything you could think of, from clothes, to food, to gardening supplies, and everything in between." As they continue to look around in wonder. she pokes both of them in the arm."Come on, lucky for us mens clothes are right up front."

She drags them to the mens section, and does some figuring in her head. After checking her bank account to make sure she has plenty of funds still, she turns to them."Alright, the way I see it you need socks, underwear, pants, a shirt, shoes and sleeping pants. Once we figure out a basic size we can go from there, and if you are here too long we can always come back and get more."

"If you say so lass."

"Why do we need sleeping pants?"

"So you have something to sleep in? No need to sleep in your clothes when you can sleep in actual sleeping pants. In fact, those should be an easy pick, so let's get those first."

She takes them to the shelf of sleeping pants, and after much consideration, Kili picks out a pair of Batman pants, and Bofur picks a simple pair of black and red checkered ones. She then gets them a pack of socks to share, and lets them both pick out some underwear(Boxers for both of them, apparently the idea of having something that tight around their nether regions didn't appeal in the least to them), then goes from there to picking out actual clothing.

Only giving a partial opinion on their choices, she ends up pretty much helping one of them at a time. Kili is actually pretty simple, as the clothes he ends up liking fits his youthful demeanor. He ends up with a pair of dark brown cargo shorts and a dark blue baseball tee with the X-Men insignia on it(which pleased him to no end), finishing off with a pair of converses the same color as his shirt. Grinning from ear to ear as he exits the changing room, he gives her a big hug, then sits down on the bench next to it while she helps out Bofur.

Bofur ends up being a bit tougher. They search for about 15 minutes before she sends him into the changing room with three different sets to try out. She sits on the bench next to Kili while he tries them on, and dismisses the first two outfits as they just don't look right on him. Kili was excited about getting back to change into his new outfit, and she smiles, thinking how much fun he would have if his brother could have been here with him. Of course, the two of them here together would probably drive her batty as well. At least Bofur was moderately mature about most things. Some things.

A cough to her side makes her look over in the direction of the changing room, and as she does so it's her turn to go speechless.

Bofur has a pair of dark jeans riding low on his hips, paired with a dark green half-button shirt, all but two of the buttons undone, nearly form-fitting to his muscular upper body, just a dusting of chest hair peeking out. As she sits there staring he stands awkwardly, shuffling his feet on the ground in a matter totally unlike him, shy in his new clothes.

"Do I look alright? I have no idea how to judge clothes from here. That, and I'm not used to not having hardly layers on...or my hat."

"You...you look fine, I promise!" she says, jumping to her feet and walking up to him to get a closer look."That color green looks good on you, and really brings out your eyes."

"Thank you." He says, a happy look on his face, pleased that she likes it.

"Why don't you change out of it, I have some sandals picked out for you, and we can get all this payed for?"

"Can do, be back in a minute." As he walks back in to change, her brain starts working normally again, now that she isn't focusing on the fact that the shirt made him looked very toned, and that as he turned around the jeans seemed to hug his ass. As she shakes her head, trying to shake other images trying to break through, Bofur walks back out, clothes in hand, and gives her a strange look.

"Hey, uh, where'd Kili go?"

"What do you mean, he's right.."she looks over at the empty bench and her face goes pale."Holy shit I lost Kili!"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bofur tries to calm her down as they race through Wal-Mart in search of the missing companion, looking down every single isle for him as they pass them.

"Lass, he can't be far, you only looked away for a moment! Besides, how much trouble could he really get in?"

"That is the worst possible question to ask in this store, even if it didn't happen to be Kili we were looking for." She says as they pass the toy section."Do you know how many people are arrested here on a daily basis? How many idiots are in this store?"

"Eh, not really luv."

"Well, neither do I, but that's not the point!"

As they come to the sports section, Cricket spies a familiar head of hair and sighs in relief."Holy crap, there he is. I swear I need to put a leash on him sometimes."

"I told you nothing to worry about! And wouldn't ya know it, that's what he would be looking at!"

Indeed, as they got closer, Kili seemed to be enraptured by a glass case of hunting bows, and as he looks over at them there is an awed look on his face.

"Can I have one? Please? I promise not to teach Conner any bad habits..well any more, and not to steal any more popcorn!"

"Kili for gods sake...I was worried!"She says, hugging him tightly before smacking him upside the head."Why did you wander off without a word? I told you to stay close!"

He actually has enough sense to look guilty."I'm sorry...I just got bored sitting there, and saw someone walking by with a bow, and wanted a closer look so I followed them, and that led me to here where I saw all of these bows, and then you showed up. Are you mad?"

"No Kili," she says, holding her head and sighing."Like I said, I was just worried. Try not to do it again, alright?"

"But what if.." Seeing both of their stern faces he stops whatever he was going to say and looks down, pouting."Ok, it won't happen again."

"Good boy. Now, lets pay for this stuff and get out of here before anything else can happen."

"So does that mean I can't have a bow?"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the Wal-Mart trip(and convincing Kili that no, he did not need a bow here, there were no goblins on orcs) they made their way to the liquor store. To keep him happy she stopped by McDonald's and got everyone a double quarter pounder meal, with large fries and sweet tea. She then went quickly in the store while they were still eating, not wanting to risk taking them in this time, especially considering Bofur's love of beer.

She ends up getting a 12-pack of Guinness, a 12-pack of Budweiser, a pint of Crown and small bottle of moscato before calling it quits. After paying for it all she heads back to the car, where the two of them have finished their food and now sipped contentedly on their teas. She packs the alcohol in the trunk and gets back in the car, ready to get home and shower.

"You know, every time you feed us I like this world more and more." Kili said happily, rubbing his finally full stomach.

"I'll say." Agrees Bofur, doing the same."I'm so full, yet can't wait to eat again!"

Cricket laughs as they pull up to the apartment and get out with their new things."Hopefully you can say the same about out beer."

"OOhhhhh when do we get that?" Bofur asks excitedly as she unlocks the door, letting them walk in before closing it behind them and locking it back.

"First you have to shower and put on your new clothes, then we head to the firework show. After that, we can drink to our hearts content, or until we run out, whatever comes first."

"Aw, why do we havta wait that long?"

"Because new clothes deserve clean bodies. That, and I really don't need you drunk in a large group of people with lots of explosions."

"You have a very good point there."

"I know I do. Come on, time to wash up."

She takes them each to a shower and shows them how to work it and what to use, along with how to turn it off once down. Once they are in she goes back down to the car and brings the drinks in, putting them in the fridge. She then drinks a quick glass of moscato and scrolls through Tumblr while waiting for them to finish so she can take her turn.

Kili finishes first, and as he bounds out happily in his new clothes, she shows him all of her sisters hair gunk and what it does, in case he is interested. He ends up brushing a defrizzer through his hair before pulling it into a royal half pony, letting her finish it off with a bit of hairspray so it stays un frizzy. As they both go back into the living room she hears the other shower go off, and puts on Nitro Circus for him before heading into her room.

Heading to the closet she pulls out her dress she and Kait picked out for tonight and lays it on the bed, and with a pair of calve high boots she got at Maurice's. As she is going through her underwear she hears the door to the bathroom opening, and she automatically turns around, ready to take her own turn.

As she looks over her breath catches, and she stares for the second time that day at the sight of Bofur in his new outfit, hair loose and wet and draped around his neck, smelling like the old spice she nabbed for them while they were at Wal-Mart. He gives her a smile and steps out, messing with his hair as he does, and she mentally slaps herself as she wishes she was the one playing with his hair, forcing herself to breath again.

"I gotta say I did enjoy that, we should figure out how to get those put in ar Erebor once we take it back. That is an enlightening experience."

She gives a small smile back, mentally thinking he should try it with another person sometime, but out loud saying"I'm sure you aren't the only one who would like that, Kili seemed pretty energized after his. Are you going to braid you hair back or leave it down?"

"I don't know, generally I always braid it, but what do you think?"

She puts her finger to her lips thoughtfully."Hmm. Honestly I think you should leave it down. It would fit the outfit, and I have some stuff you can put in it to make it soft and smooth to the touch."

"So you want my hair to be soft and touchable eh?" He says, grinning and winking at her, taking a step closer. She blushes and walks around him, reaching into the bathroom and getting him the bottle.

"I..I don't know what you're talking about. Use it or don't, it's up to you. Now out, I have to shower if we are going to make it on time." She presses the bottle into his chest and pushes him out of the room with it. As he reaches to take it their hands touch, and she makes the mistake of looking up into his eyes(a very new experience for her) and they both pause, the unspoken emotion showing in them as they unconsciously move closer to one another. Their chests are nearly touching when Kili interrupts the moment with roaring laughter, breaking her out of it. She blushes again and lets go of the bottle, shutting the door in his face.

Bofur sighs heavily and stands there for a moment before heading to the living room, plopping down on the couch with the hair product still in hand. Wondering if the Maker was screwing with his mind for a reason, he takes the bottles and squeezes some out into to his hand, working it slowly through his hair as Kili continues to laugh at the antics on Tv.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forty-five minutes later, after showering, shaving, dressing, and doing her hair and light makeup, Cricket steps out of the bathroom a new woman. she pulls on her boots, spritzes on some glitter perfume, snaps on her leather cuff bracelet and silver eternity necklace, then steps in front of the mirror to check herself out.

"Not bad." she says to herself, doing a little spin. She was taking advantage of being girly while she could, along with having long hair again, and had her hair in a messy updo, curly strands coming down all over.

Smiling to herself she turns out the light and steps out, ready for a night of fun.

Bofur had been watching Nitro Circus with Kili, and now wondered how hard it would be to build a water slide like that back home, knowing they would have several volunteers to try it out if they could. Kili, though interested as well, was more so in somehow building a bike to ride around the mountain.

He had finally gotten over being interrupted during their little moment back there when he hears her bedroom door open. Looking over as he hears her walk up, his mouth goes dry, and he immediately jumps to his feet, feeling Kili do the same beside him."Bloody hell..."he whispers to himself. She had on a wispy dark blue dress barely reaching her knee, being held up by tiny straps on her shoulder, showing off her neck. There was a dark brown belt around her waist, paired with heeled boots of the same color, bringing her closer to their new height. The dress clung to her in all the right places, and she had curly tendrils of hair kissing her neck. He wanted to kiss her neck.

She was a vision.

As she notices the two of them staring her smile fades."Whats wrong...is there something on my face? Something sticking out? Does it not look good on me? I knew this dress was a bad idea.." As she turns back towards her room, Bofur grabs her arm, stopping her.

"No!" he says, turning her back around to face him."You look amazing. I just wasn't expecting it."

She furrows her brow in confusion."You wern't expecting me to look amazing?"

"No, that's not what I meant, , you always look amazing." he says, getting a snigger from Kil behind him."What I meant was that I didn't expect a dress quite like this, one so...short." "

"And showing off so much leg." he thinks to himself.

She laughs at his answer, causing him to sigh in relief."Believe me, this is nothing compared to some dresses I've seen. This is still considered decently modest to most."

Bofur grins at her wolfishly."Don't suppose you have one of those somewhere around here?"

"Maker I hope not, I'm scarred enough as it is."

"Don't worry, even if I did, this is hardly the right kind of event to wear it to. Now, are you guys ready to go?"

"If you are, we are."

"Yea, let's go see some fireworks!"

"And come back to drink!"

"Yay drinking!"

"Good grief, you two are as bad as frat boys."She says as they climb into the car. "Next thing I know you'll be wearing togas and playing beer pong."

"Whats's a toga?"

"Whats beer pong?"

"Just forget I mentioned either. Now, lets go see some explosions."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kait was already waiting for them in the parking lot when they arrived, and as soon as Cricket had the door locked she heard a shriek, and turned around to spy a pink and blonde streak coming at her. Bracing herself, she feels arms wrap around her body in a rib-crushing hug, and can't help but grin and hug her back, much to the amusement of Kili and Bofur. They finally end the hug after a while, and Cricket looks into a pair of bright green eyes.

"Cricket, you look so good in that dress, I knew it was a good idea to get it, especially with those boots. Are these your friends? They are really cute, I see why you want to stay here with them, are they both single? So I have to tell you I have already met a really cute guy here, and after I get a couple of drinks in with you, I may go and hang out with him, convince him to go with the group tonight, though if I do I can't flirt with other guys. Well, I can, but it would be rude. And I won't have as many drinks bought for me if it looks like I brought a date. Oh my Gosh you look so good though, do you want to share a shot with me now, or..."

"For gods sake Kait, slow down, you know how much you ramble after your first shot!" Kait stops and closes her mouth, though she looks like she was itching to talk again."Yes, these are my friends, Kili and Bofur." Both of them walk up and bow to her, Kili going so far as to kiss her hand, which makes Kait giggle."Thank you, I really like the dress and boots as well, that's why I got them, silly goose. You can flirt with whoever you want, it's your night after all. And yes, I will have a small shot, as I have to stay sober enough to drive."

She was an expert in translating Kaits drinking fast talk by now.

Kait jumps up and down in happiness before grabbing her hand and dragging her along, Kili and Bofur exchanging glances as they follow behind closely, remembering her instructions. Kait drags her to a large tree, where she already has a blanket set up, and sits Cricket down on it, handing her a flask.

"Drink up, since its your only one take a big gulp!" Crickets lifts an eyebrow at her before doing so, enjoying the burning sensation going down her throat, and hands it back to her when finished, sated until they get back home."Good girl, you always knew how to drink! Oh they are about to start, I have a hunk of man meat to flirt with, see you in a bit!" With that, the storm known as Kait ran off to who knows where for the moment, leaving a stunned Kili and Bofur in her wake.

"Who, what the heck was that?" Kili asked, staring as Kait ran off."She spoke so fast, and was just so...pink!"

"That, my dear dwarves, is my best friend here." Cricket said, patting the sides of the blanket beside her for them to sit down on."I went to a summer program with her when I was still in school, and she was my roommate. Once the program was over, we never really lost contact with one another, and now she's my drinking buddy and wingman. And she is naturally bouncy, so she can't stay in on place too long, unless it's a bar, and even then she dances most of the time."

"Wow."Bofur says as they settle down on the blanket."What did she have you drink?"

"Oh, just a bit of whiskey. Nothing like that stuff Beorn gave me, and it will be out of my system by the time the show is over."

"That's a relief." Bofur mumbled to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. What time does the show start?"

"Apparently in a couple of minutes, which is why we are sitting down. Least she put me against a tree this time, so I have something to lean back against." She closes her eyes for a moment, relaxing in the night air, letting the small drink of whiskey do its job to calm her. She opens them back up when she hears the drums indicting the start of the show, and feels Fili fidgeting beside her, anxious for the show to start."Calm down, I swear you're like a puppy sometimes."

"Fluffy and adorable?"

"Hyperactive and hungry all the time." He pouts at that, and she laughs, knocking into him gently."Don't be like that, goofball."

He is about to retort when the fireworks start, and his gaze immediately goes to across the bond where they are shooting them off. She smiles and looks as well, still feeling him jiggle in excitement, and she grabs his hand, which somehow calms him down. Wanting to be fair she grabs Bofurs as well, and he looks over, surprised. She merely smiles at him and looks off into the night, watching the first bursts of blue and gold, hearing the small children cheer in glee as they go off.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she asks, not to anyone in particular. Bofur stares at her face in the glow of the fireworks, at her look of happiness and relaxation, and he gives a wistful smile.

"Aye." he whispers to himself."You are." Gripping her hand tight he leans back against the tree and looks up at the night sky as well, at the explosions of blue, red, green and purple, and the indention the smoke makes in the sky. After about 5 minutes he feels Cricket lean back as well, and 5 minutes after that her head is on his shoulder, still holding both their hands, and Bofur wishes for nothing more than this night to end as they relax in the night, against a backdrop of glittering lights that look like magic, or falling stars, and put the danger of their quest in the back of their minds for this night at least.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The show ended after about an hour, and after saying goodbye to Kait and wishing her luck on her fun night(she had decided to bring the hunk after all), they head back to the apartment to drink. As Cricket hands him his first beer, for once Bofur really can't taste it, having much bigger things on his mind. If Bifur had been there, he would have said his cousin was sick, not wanting to drink like normal. He still drank his entire 12-pack though(Guinness), along with a shot of whiskey, before calling it a night, laying in her spare bedroom, hands behind his head while he pondered, not really tired.

Kili could taste it though, and did, finishing off a full 12 pack and a crown and coke before passing out on the couch. Cricket stuck to her whiskey and wine, saying once they got back to middle earth they would have their fill of beer, and she wanted her favorites while she still could. She had the entire bottle of wine, along with a shot of whiskey and a crown and coke, heading to her own room after fixing Bofur up.

About 30 minutes later though, he hear what sounded like voices coming from her room. Curious, he got out of bed, clad in only his new sleeping pants, and walked to her room, checking on her. When he looked in he saw her sitting up in bed, tv on, and she gives him a small smile as he walks in."Couldn't sleep either?" he asks.

"Nah. Must be the excitement of being home, mixed with the worry about what our friends are going through back in Middle-Earth. Plus ?"

"The excitement of being in a new place I suppose. A lot on my mind, makes sleep almost impossible."

"That I understand. Wanna watch some tv with me?" She scoots over and pats the space beside her, and gulping he climbs on, noticing she has the blanket over her legs, but under his. As they both lean back to watch tv, he notices she has a somber look on her face that he hasn't seen since their first walk to get ponies from the shire.

"Are you ok? You seem sad."

"It's nothing, I just..." she pauses, trying to figure the right words to say."I thought I would be happier being home like this."

"Are you not?"

"I am, just not as much as I should be. I keep worrying about what they are going through back in the woods, and if Conner is ok, and keep thinking, how am I supposed to help you reclaim your mountain from here? I wanted to be home...but now I find my heart split in two. I have people I care about it both places, and don't want to lose either. Not to mention if Conner thinks I'm dead, he will go mad or hibernate for who knows how many years. I can't just leave him alone, when its my job to protect him and teach him."

"That's a lot to have on your shoulders."

"Am I worrying too much again? I just don't want anyone hurt because of me...I care for all of you so much now. Hell, Conner feels like my child at times, especially with Kili teaching him to call me mama Cricket."

"You definitely aren't worrying too much. We feel the same way about you, ya know. We all want you to be happy, to go home, but at the same time we want you there with us, so we can keep you safe. And if you do have to leav...maybe knowing you are alive, but simply somewhere else, will be enough to keep Conner from going to the deep end. You know he will have all of us helping him as well, if we can."

"I know." She gives a sad smile, still looking at the tv."Bofur, how did you become so smart, knowing just what to say?"

"It's the hat. Keeps all of my senses in my head, instead of flying out when I'm bashed in the head while fighting. I told you it was more than a fashion statement."

She laughs and turns slowly to him. "That's pretty good. Thank you, for making me feel better. You have been such a good friend on this quest...I don't know where I would be without you." She leans over to plant a kiss on his cheek at the same time he turns his head towards her, and ends up kissing the corner of his mouth accidentally, leaving him to look at her in shock.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I was trying to kiss your cheek." she looks up guiltily into his eyes, and is surprised to see him smiling gently at her. Taking his hand and caressing her cheek, he brings his face closer to hers, both of their hearts pounding in theirs chests.

"I'm not." he says softly, and brings his lips to hers in a light kiss. Surprised at first, it doesn't take much for her to melt into it, and her hand slowly comes to gently grip the back of his neck, pressing him closer. The tv noise seems to melt away, leaving nothing but the two of them, and the kiss becomes slightly more, as she feels his mouth open a small bit, letting the tip of his tongue wisp across her lips, and she lets her mouth open as well, letting his tongue slip in. The kiss lasts about a minute before they finally separate, her feeling his smile as they break apart, and she looks wonderingly into his eyes, now seeming to be a bit darker that before.

He continues to caress her cheek as he looks down at her"Do you know how long I've wanted to do that lass?" He whispers, his voice having deepened, and she feels it all the way down to her bones."May I kiss you again?" She merely nods, and he dips his head back down for another kiss, this one deeper than the last, her gripping his neck tighter as her body responds to his kiss, sending flutters of warmth down her.

As their lips begin to press more strongly against each other, both opening to let his tongue slip in again, this time she slips her tongue against his, and their tongues dance inside their mouths, Bofurs hand moving from her cheek to her hair, to the back of her head, and now their bodies and moving closer together as well, and Cricket gets brave, biting down gently on Bofurs lip before sucking if softly into her mouth, feeling his body respond to her. He growls, and their kisses turn into ones of much urgency, all the passion they had hidden from one another finally coming forward.

Bofurs hand slowly moves down as the do so, sliding down her neck, down her arm, down her side, coming to rest on her hip, and he grips it tightly, pulling her closer to his own body, hearing a slight moan come from her that only seems to spur him on. His lips move down to her neck, softly kissing and sucking on it, enjoying her moans that seem to continue, deepening as she brings her hard to the back of his head and threads her fingers through his hair, gripping it at one point, then running her nails through his scalp, causing him to moan this time.

As they try to bring their bodies as close as possible, still partially side by side, Bofur suddenly growls throatily, grabbing her by both of her hips and lifting her, the blanket falling away from her lap, and puts her on his lap, her legs straddling him as he sees what she was hiding under it.

She was wearing a thin, silky nightgown, that went to just her mid-thigh, and she opens her eyes, staring into his green brown ones lustily, her hands still at the back of his head gripping his hair as he runs one finger slowly up and down her thigh, watching as she closes her eyes and bites her bottom lip at the sensation. Staring at the lip she's biting he leans forward and captures them again, feeling her squirm as he runs both hands up and down her thighs, nails pressing into her skin, and breaks the kiss off for a moment.

"Did you wear this for me?" He asked, his accent deeper from lust, and she smiles, bringing her lips to his ear.

"Maybe. Does that mean you approve of it?" she whispers, before taking his earlobe and sucking on it, causing his hands to tighten on her hips and bring her forward. As he does, she feels his bulge though his sleeppants and moans louder than ever, causing him to simply pusher her harder against it.

Lifting her a bit for better friction, one of her straps falls down her arm, revealing the tip of her breast, and he eyes it hungrily, taking one hand from her hip and moving it up, rubbing his thumb across it before grinning evilly and bringing his mouth down on it, and causing her to gasp. As he teases her nipple with his tongue, she begins to grind up against him on her own, the bulge in his pants considerably harder and larger now, both of her hands clawing at his scalp as she throws her head back in bliss, moaning his name.

She feels him smiling again at her breast as she does that and lifts his head back up."My name sounds so good coming as a moan from you." He says as he bites gently at her collar bone."Can you feel how hard I am for you?" he cups her ass and squeezes, pressing her firm against him, and she moans once more, coming back down for another kiss and his hand moves up her back, one hand still on her hip, urging her to continue moving.

"Fuck, Bofur." She says as his thumb on her hips strokes a little more inward towards her warmest area, and his fingers slowly start to move under her panty line."Please don't stop, that feels so fucking good."

"Where did you get suck a dirty little mouth?" he says as he takes a finger and traces it across her lips. She smiles and takes the finger into her mouth, sucking on it gently and causing his eyes to go wide as he moans, her running her tongue around it suggestively, barely scraping it with her teeth as she pulls it out."Bloody hell, I take it back, you have a dirty, wonderful, talented mouth."

"You should feel my mouth on other, more sensitive places...I would love to watch you squirm."

He nearly comes just hearing her talk about it, and he kisses her again, almost animalistic now as they move against one another, both of their inhibitions lowered from the alcohol, neither caring, both simply taking the moment and running with it, both lost in a haze as they grind wildly against each other.

Wanting even more skin against him, as well as something more, both hands move to her underwear, gripping at the top as he slowly begins to move them down. They are about 2 inches down, when a loud crash comes from the living room, causing both of them to start, breathing hard as they stare at one another."What the hell was that?" Bofur whispers, Cricket shaking her head as they continue to listen.

Suddenly they hear a moan coming from the living room as well, and Bofur leans his head against her headboard, chuckling softly."Damnit Kili."

"I guess he fell off the couch." She says, leaning her forehead against his and sighing."Should we check on him?"

"Aye, the bloody cockblock. He probably fell headfirst again. I love the boy, really I do, but he has horrible timing."

Cricket smiles and climbs slowly off of him, leaving both feeling like they were missing something at the feeling of cool air against their skin. Pulling on her sleeppants under her nightgown, she comes back up to him, pressing a gentle kiss on his lips, brief and sweet. "Be right back, I'm going to go check on him."

"Why not me?" She smiles and nods to his still erect arousal, and he blushes."Point taken. Go on, get back soon."

She nods and walks out to check on Kili, head still reeling a bit from what had just happened. She knew he always joked around about certain things with her, but never knew he was actually serious about some of them. In the bedroom, Bofur was doing the same thing, smiling as his head was still leaned back against the board, so glad he had finally taken the chance and made a move.

As Cricket walked into the living room, indeed, Kili was on the floor, half asleep still, muttering about his head."Hey champ, are you ok?" She asks, helping him come unsteadily to his feet.

"Yea. It's not a good thing to want to spread out when you sleep, you tend to fall off things. Good thing I am used to landing on my head, it's quite thick by now."

She laughs, still not letting him go as we wobbles a bit, and starts to notice something strange, making her stop laughing. His arm was starting to waver a bit in and out, moving to his entire body. Looking down she noticed hers was as well, and through her half alcohol, half sex haze, she realized what was going on and acted fast, taking Kilis barely corporeal arm and dragging it to the bedroom with her."Come with me, now!"

As they enter Bofur looks at her face and jumps up."Whats wrong?"

"Take a look at your body, is it going hazy?" He looks down at his chest and goes pale, watching it go in and out of being.

"Whats going on?"

Cricket pulls Kili to the bed and has him climb on the bed beside Bofur."I think we are starting to be pulled back, this looks a bit like the black water we fell into. If so, I want all of us to be together, that way there is no chance that anyone gets left behind." She climbs on the bed, putting herself between the two of them, her heart racing, and feels both of them grab her hands.

"That was fast."Kili says, a bit mournfully, as the dark mist becomes stronger over them."I would have liked to stay longer."

"Aye."Bofur says, looking at Cricket and catching her eye, gripping her hand a bit tighter."You and me both."

As their bodies are completely overtaken, the three of them fall back into a sleep like the one they had woken from, being transported back to Middle-earth, and their companions, not knowing what to expect once they wake back up. What mattered was that they were together, and unharmed.

Changed, but unharmed.

_Sooo yea, this turned into a massive chapter, I simply didn't know where to stop. What do you think of the two of them finally getting a chance together? Btw, Kili is in no way dumb in the story, just a bit immature at times. _

_And don't hate me if I ruin things please...I am not experienced in writing these sorts of things._

_Next chapter, they wake in the palace of the elf king!  
_


	16. Feelings are bad

_Try not to hate me at the end of this...there is a plan._

Cricket feels as though she is drifting in a never-ending blackness, keeping her in a constant state of being half asleep. It's very calming there, as if all her cares are gone, with the feeling of someone always at her ear, whispering into it, telling her to just give in, that it's so much easier that way. No more fights, no more constant traveling, no more danger, just eternal peace in a bed of never-ending dark. Several times she has been tempted to accept, to just let go, but something keeps holding her back, telling her to stay strong, somewhere in the back of her mind.

This time the voice seems more determined than ever, sounding like a lullaby from childhood. It reminds her of the song her music box played as a little girl, the one her mother would wind up whenever she woke in the middle of the night from a nightmare. I was paired with the feeling of her mother stroking her hair gently as she is lulled back to sleep. It's an extremely relaxing thought, one that almost makes her feel like she is 5 years old again, and this time it seems to work, making her finally begin to close her eyes for good.

However, just before her lids touch, the thought at the back of her mind starts up again, gentle at first, and she bats it away like an annoying fly.

It returns, stronger this time, with a pale blue light along with it, and a nearly recognizable voice saying words that cut in and out. She pauses from shutting her eyes and strains to hear it, to piece together what it's saying.

* ama rick ak p*

She can almost make them out, the voice sounding like a young boy, and she forces herself to pay closer attention as the light steadily gets brighter.

*Mama Crick ak up*

She nearly has it, half awake now, the light slowly overtaking the dark.

*Mama Cricket please wake up!*

As it hits her, as she recognizes the voice finally, she starts, fully awake as the blue light engulfs her fully, and she lets out a scream.

"Conner!"

When the light finally fades she's sitting up straight on a soft bed, drenched in sweat in a white room with elves clad in white going too and fro, Conner on her lap. One of the healers notices she's awake, and runs off to let someone know. Cricket looks around hazily, her head pounding, wondering where she is.

*Mama Cricket, you finally woke up!* Conner says excitedly, launching himself into her arms and nearly knocking her back with a happy squeak. She smiles as she hugs him tightly, his excitement contagious. When they finally break it off, she looks down fondly at him, yet confused at the same time.

"Conner, where are we, where's the rest of the company?"

"We're in the forest still, in a place full of nice elves with really yummy food. I don't know where everyone else is, Kili and Bofur woke up before you and were taken away. I'm just so glad you're awake!*

"How long was I asleep?"

"Five days, more or less." Says a voice to her side, causing her to jump. She looks over to see a blonde, smiling male elf leaning against the doorway. He straightens up and walks slowly towards them, sitting at a chair next to her bed."Your little friend was very worried about you, you slept a full day longer than the other two, and even our healers were beginning to get frantic. He never left your side once, except for a quick bathroom break. The rest of the time he ate and slept here."

"How did I get here?" She asks, Conner purring against her neck happily.

"Your company was attacked by spiders in our wood, after they strayed from the path. My regiment heard them and drove off the spiders, bringing you all back to the palace."

"Um...palace?"

He smiles."Yes, the palace of my father, the elvenking Thranduil. My name is Legolas, a pleasure to meet you." He takes her hand and brings it to his lips, placing on it a soft kiss, and she blushes as he gives it back to her.

"Cricket. My name, that is. Thank you for all your help I suppose, but where are my friends? I find it very hard to believe that none of them are here keeping an eye on me. They have a bit of a silly protective streak at times when it comes to me."

Legolases face hardens for a moment and he looks down. When he comes back up his eyes have softened a bit."They are in the dungeons at the bottom of the palace. It is a crime to cross these woods without our permission, and my father wishes to hear all of your accounts before he makes a decision on what to do."

"Oh." she says softly, staring at her lap as she strokes Conners neck."Well, that kind of sucks. I'm sure they would have asked for it if they had known..well, maybe not considering Thorin...but Gandalf told us to go ahead and cross through. Can't you make an exception just this once?"

"I'm afraid ignorance is no excuse. However, my father may be merciful, once he knows your reasons for crossing the Greenwood."

"Am I going to the dungeons now since I'm awake?"

"What? No, of course not, we would never put a lady down there. You are our honored guest."

"I'm really not that much of a lady, to be honest."

His face takes on a slightly amused look."If you say so. My father actually would like to speak with you, now that you're finally awake. Do you think you would be able to walk?"

"If I can't, I'll fall on my face trying." She says, smiling weakly as she pushes off the bed, Conner still around your neck."Cripes Conner, what have you been eating?"

*Fish. Oh and deer, and mushroom, and cheese.* He says, apparently to both of them from the grin on Legolas's face.

"Figures, you are definitely heavier." She says as she comes to her feet shakily. As she takes a tentative step she stumbles, legs still weak, and she is only stopped from hitting the ground by Legolas grabbing her arm.

"Thanks, guess I need to get used to walking again."

"No need to apologize, it's natural considering how long you've been stationary. Why don't you hold onto my arm as we walk, that way I can help keep you from falling?"

"That..that would be great, thank you again. At this point I will be thanking you for things all day long."

He laughs as she takes his arm, and begins to slowly escort her out of the room and into the hallway. Surprisingly, Conner moves from her neck to the elf princes, and Legolas smiles indulgently at him.

"How come you aren't afraid of freaked out by him?"She asked, extremely curious about how comfortable the two seemed around each other."The company nearly died of fright when he hatched, and most of them still have a hard time getting used to him, yet you act like it's an everyday thing for him to be here." As he opens his mouth to speak, she throws more in."And please, don't give me any of that 'elves don't scare as easily as dwarves' crap, because I heard enough of that kind of talk from the company while traveling, and my head hurts enough as it it without having to hear macho bullshit." Legolas glances at her curiously, and she shrugs."Sorry, when I first wake up speaking inhibitions are kind on nonexistent. Just sayin."

He smiles gently at her and continues to walk."Believe it or not, that wasn't going to be my answer. My mother was actually a dragons bondmate as well."

That stops Cricket in her tracks, and she stares at Legolas, shocked.

"Really? But wait, you said she was, does that mean.."

"Yes."Says Legolas, staring mournfully down at the floor."She's dead."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." he says, starting them walking again."She and her dragon, Katlan, were in charge of the eggs and hatchlings, or at least the ones the dragon queen sent to her. She even had a dragon hatchling and its bondmate come in once, and helped them discover their powers."

"That's amazing! I could really use someone like that about now, I have no idea how to go about learning what we can do. What happened to her, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not at all...do you know anything of what happened with the dragons, about caused them to disappear?"

"A little, not much. Something caused them to go barren and mad?"

"That's one way of putting it, I suppose. A great evil by the name of Sauron became angry that he could neither bond with a dragon, nor bend it to his will to do what he commanded. In his anger he came up with a plan to punish them all, cursing nearly all dragons at the time. Those that didn't go barren went insane at random times from whatever he did, and the rest merely hid, not revealing themselves to anyone lest they be cursed or hunted down like the rest. At one point, Sauron managed to get ahold of a couple of eggs, and that caused the quees to task Katlan with hiding the remaining eggs not yet hatched, including her own, the next ruler of dragonkind. She managed to do so just before her and her guardian were killed, shot up by orcs with poisoned arrows until they could no longer defend themselves, causing panic among any remaining dragon. My mother packed all the eggs on Katlan, except one, that fell off as Katlan was flying off, before she could be attacked as well. That egg was sent off with a trusted friend, to hide somewhere no one would expect. Something must have happened to Katlan on the trip, however, as a week later, my mother clutched at her heart in pain, as if something was stabbing it. The next day she passed on, tears running down her face, from heart-sickness." She squeezed his arm in sympathy as he finished."We had no idea that it worked both ways, since dragons nearly always live longer than their bondmates, or die at the same time."

"The egg you sent off must have been Conners."She says as they pause in front of a pair or great ornate doors, two guards in front of them. She smiles up at the downcast elf."So does that mean you were used to having baby dragons around?"

"Oh yes." He says, face lightening up a bit at the thought."I was child myself at the time, and was constantly following my mother around as she cared for them, playing with them, helping her feed them, sitting in on her lessons...I had hoped that someday I might be like her, a dragons bondmate. I suppose it wasn't meant to be."

"Don't say that, maybe Katlan managed to hide them after all before she died."

"Perhaps. For now, maybe I could do the next best thing, and help you a bit while you are here?"

"That would be amazing, I'll take any tips and advice I can get. I'm shooting in the dark here, and the only reason he knows how to turn into a tattoo and fly are because Dwalin and Kili helped me out."

Legolas inclines his head towards her."Are you ready?" he says, motioning to the doors.

"Sure, why not, lets get it over with." She says, and Conner hops back to her, settling in the crook of the arm not holding on to Legolas. The elf prince nods at the guards and they push open the doors, allowing the both of them to walk in.

As they enter, the first thing she notices is an elf who can only be the king, sitting on an ornate wooden throne, a many spined crown studded with rowan berries atop his head, gleaming silver-blonde hair running down his back, with an air of utter indifference to him. As his eyes cut to the two of them, she notices movement below the throne, and looks lower to see Thorin standing there staring at her, obviously surprised to see her up and about. She gives him a tired smile and he nods minutely before glaring back over at Thranduil.

"It looks like your..companion has finally woken." Thranduil says to Thorin, a sly look touching his face. "As..enlightening as our conversation has been, I believe for now I will let you return to your accommodations to consider my offer without distractions." He nods to the guards on either side of Thorin, and they take hold of an arm each.

"I will never accept help from the likes of you!" Thorins spits out as they begin to pull him along. As they pass by Cricket, he turns his head to her."Do not trust them, they are full of nothing but lies and deception. They left my people to be killed by Smaug!"

As they haul him out of the room, Cricket has a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, that she isn't sure is from Thorin's words, or the fact she hasn't eaten or drank anything in 5 days.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Thranduil says from in front of her, and she looks back to him."He has quite a temper, even for a dwarf, don't you think?"

She cocks her head, considering his words."I have always thought of him as more broody than anything else, though he can get angry fast, yes. I'm pretty sure Conner's name for him is the angry man. However, as the only experience I have with dwarves are the thirteen in my company I've been traveling with, I'm not really the best judge." she says, and Thranduil smiles very briefly.

"Indeed. From what I have heard, you don't have much experience with much from this world, do you? You dragon..Conner is it? He said you were atually from another realm. Is that true?"

She glances at Conner, who seems to blush, and sighs.

*Sorry, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to tell.*

*It's all right.* She looks back at Thranduil. "May I please sit? My legs aren't used to being used yet."

"Of course." He motions to one of his guards, and a soft chair is brought for her. Legolas positions himself behind her, and Conner settles in her lap. She strokes his head, and looks back up at the king.

"Thank you. What Conner said...it's the truth. I'm not from here in any way, form or fashion."

"How did you come to be here?"

"I'm still not sure exactly. There was a freak storm back home, and I was hit in the head with a heavy tree branch, knocking me to the ground, making me hit my head on a rock and pass out. When I woke up, Kili and Fili were there, saying I appeared out of a burst of light. I have been with the company ever since."

"This is quite unheard of." Said Thranduil thoughtfully."Have you any idea of why you were brought here, or who did so?"

"Frankly I have no idea, but it seems every person I meet has their own theory on why I'm here, just no who. Not only that, but no one has a clue how to get me back."

"Why do you want to go back?"

His question throws her off a bit."What?"

"Why do you want to go back?" He stands up, walking towards her."From what I have seen so far, you have done quite well since you have arrived. You are wearing elvish clothes, made by the most talented mythril weaver known. Not only are you considered a friend of the Lord of the eagles, by the feather around your neck, you have the honor of being the first DragonKnight in over 150 years. Even if that wasn't a big enough accomplishment, Conner is the first dragon to hatch in 100 years, and your being his bondmate means you will be a powerful pair, once trained of course. And while it is true that I may at times feel just as angry at certain dragons as Thorin, for being the reason my wife is dead, and for other, more material reasons, I would not hesitate to offer my services as an ally to the both of you. You could be a powerful force for good in this world...why would you want to leave that?"

She looks down at her lap, at Conner cuddled there like a kitten with wings, and sighs."Believe me, I keep getting told how important I will be, by several different people, and I want to be a help. But I also want to see my family again, my friends. I want to hug my nephew again, to tell him how big he has gotten. It's not that I don't appreciate all that has happened since I arrived here, the friends I have made, the people I have grown to care about, but I was ripped away from my home without warning, without anyone asking if I wanted to leave. I don't want to leave..but I don't want to give up my home either."

Thranduil is silent for a while after her confession, and she shifts in her chair, not liking the quiet. Legolas stares at his father, wondering what his thoughts are, equally as uncomfortable with the silence in the room.

"You're right."

Cricket looks up to see him staring softly at her, an understanding look on his face."I am?"

"Yes, you are, and it was wrong of me to question your wanting to go home. However, while you are here, and if you do not find a way back, you will be welcome to stay here, and learn to train young Conner We even have the old Dragonknight apartment available still, if you would feel no objections to staying there."

"Oh..um, thank you. Thank you very much, that's very kind of you." She smiles slightly."It seems I have several people who want to make sure I have a place to go to if I can't find a way back. I'm very lucky to have made so many good friends. And yes please, if you two can help me train Conner a bit while I am here, I would be most grateful."

Thranduil raises an eyebrow slightly at her acceptance, wondering if the dwarves were one of the friends who had offered her a place to stay."It is my pleasure. We can start whenever you are ready." He stops as she yawns, and hears her stomach growl at almost the same time."But I have been a horrible host, here you are, hungry, and most likely wanting a bath, and I'm making you talk. Legolas, will you show her to one of the quest quarters for now, and have one of the ladies maids draw a bath for her, along with bringing her some clothes? Once she is bathed, bring her some food, not eating for 5 days is starting to catch up with her, and I won't have her starving to death while she is a guest in my court."

"What about my friends?"

"What about them?"

"Can I at least go see them, let them know I'm ok? They must be worried sick."

He seems to think hard about it, then nods."After you bathe and eat, you may visit them. I still have to finish hearing them out, however, so none of them may leave. Is that clear?" He says sternly, and she nods.

"Yes, thank you, your highness." She gives a small curtsy, having gotten a bit better at it, and takes back hold of the princes arm, allowing him to lead her away. He watches the two of them leave and calls a guard over, telling him to bring one of the dwarves that was asleep with her. Once the guard has left to follow his command, he sits back in his throne, considering all he has heard so far, from both her and the dwarves. He knew that eventually Thorin would attempt to reclaim the mountain, though whether from the gold-sickness whispering in his ear, or actually wanting the mountain for his people, he wasn't quite sure.

He did know that the girl and the dragon would be in danger if she continued on the foolhardy quest, and that it was his job to try and preserve the life of the only dragon bondmates alive, as his wife would want it. He did not trust the dwarves to keep her safe however. Thorin barely had a hold on his anger, and if the gold sickness did indeed take him, there was no telling how far he would go to keep what he considered his, much as his grandfather did the day he and a regiment came to claim a chest of precious white gems they had already agreed upon a price for. Thorins grandfather had straight up had them snap the chest shut in Thranduils face, and demanded they leave.

Thorin might actually became violent if so pressured. Because of that, it was his duty to try and get her to leave their company, and he thought he had the perfect way how. One of the dwarves had shown a particular fondness and defensiveness of her, one of the ones that had fell into the black water with her, and a glint in his eye had looked like he cared for her as more than a friend, or at least wanted to, and he was sure he could use that to his advantage, to convince the dwarf that she would just be in danger by staying with them.

Not only that, but perhaps if he was lucky, he could convince his son that a different sort of alliance would be beneficial to both him and the girl...

As that particular thought entered his mind, a dwarf with a silly looking hat was led into the throne room, and he prepared to convince him what he needed to think.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cricket sighed in pleasure at the feeling of the hot water around her, bubbles everywhere, and giggled as Conner popped up from the water, a beard of bubbles around his head, and he crowed in delight before diving back in. Luckily she had washed her hair before Conner had decided to jump in, and now was simply soaking in the rose smelling water, her body completely relaxed. If it hadn't been for the fact that her stomach had growled the entire time, she would have fallen asleep in the water. or at least moved straight to the bed to crash, wrapped in nothing but a towel.

But she was actually very hungry, plus had a hyper dragon bouncing around, her, so she climbed unwillingly out of the tub, wrapping herself in a towel and drying Conner off, and stepped into the rose and chocolate-colored room to see what clothes were left for her. She can get over how soft and light elven dresses are, and as she pulls the light blue dress over her head, she feels this one is no exception, and she feels like a fairy as she twirls, her sleeves airy and fluttery, her skin soft from the bath oils. Her backpack had been brought from the healers quarters, so she took the chance to slick some lipchap on after brushing her teeth real quick. 5 days of unbrushed teeth made for horrible breath.

Once she is finished, there is a light knock on the door, and after she says for whoever it is to come in, Legolas pops his head in, much to the delight of Conner, who bounds up to him and pounces him. Legolas laughs and grabs him, throwing him into the air so he can soar back to Cricket, then looks at her, his face softening a bit as he takes in the sight of her in an elven dress.

*Mister Legolas, can we eat now? Mama Cricket needs to try that fish!*

"Of course, titta mine, if she is ready." He looks at her and smiles."Are you ready?"

*Yea, are you ready? Huh? Huh? Are you?*

She laughs and grabs the dragon, picking him up and cradling him in her arms."Yes, you little rascal, I'm ready. Lets try some of this amazing fish you keep talking about." She looks over to Legolas and grins."Lead the way?"

"As you wish hiril nin." He replies, holding out his arm, and she takes it, letting him lead her once again down the twisting hallways. As they walk, she leans over and whispers to him.

"You know I don't understand what you mean when you speak...what is it, Sinderin? What are you saying?"

He smiles at her and they make a left. "I was calling the dragon little one. To you, I was just saying my lady."

"Oh. Well that's a relief. I was afraid you would say I'm not allowed to know what you were saying, like with Khudzul. I was lucky enough to learn Iglishmek as it is."

"They taught you Iglishmek?" He asked, surprised, as they passed several curious looking elves holding bows, including one female with red hair.

"Yes. I learned so I could actually talk to one of the dwarves that couldn't speak the common tongue anymore after an axe to the head.  
Since I couldn't learn Khuzdul, that was the next best thing, and we would hold entire conversations while riding the ponies."

They enter a large dining hall, and they both sit at a table close the the kitchen, Conner sitting on the tables top."That's amazing. Father was right, you have achieved a lot since being here, in a very short time."

"Dwalin says I'm not a bad fighter either, though I haven't had much of a chance to train since Conner hatched. I could use a good spar."

"Well, perhaps while you are here, I can spar a bit with you. I wouldn't mind seeing how good you actually are."

An elf brings them a platter of food, along with two goblets of wine, and Legolas thanks her in Sinderin, looking back to Cricket as she stares hungrily at the food."Dig in, no need to stand on formality, I know you must be starving. I told them to bring this to us as soon as we sat down."

Cricket nods and picks up a fork, stabbing at the fish and taking a bite, eyes closing in pleasure at the taste, and in no time half the platter is gone, the other half devoured by Conner, who Legolas assured her was eating a regular amount for a dragon out of the egg not that long, especially one who was already exercising some of his powers. Cricket was ashamed that she didn't leave Legolas any, and he laughed, promising her that he had eaten while she bathed, anticipating her extreme hunger. She sighs in relief, sipping her wine contently as Conner finishes off his last mushroom. He sighs as well, flopping on his back, his tail twitching.

*That was good, my tummy is so full now!*

"Yes, it was. You were right, that fish was tasty."

*I told you! We should have it more!*

"Yes, but not right now."

*No...full now.* He crawls in her lap, curling into a little ball, and she strokes him all along his side, feeling him purr. She looks up at Legolas and grins, and gets one in return as they hear Conner begin to snore.

"So this is normal, huh?"

"Yes, growing dragons can eat like a halfling, and sleep almost anywhere. Their endless energy keeps them from getting fat most of the time, and the food is good for energy once they start practicing their powers."

"Good to know. I will have to make sure and keep him plenty fed when we start back on the quest." When Legolas stiffens, she looks over at him, her face looking a bit sad."Legolas, he can't keep them here, they just want to reclaim their home, and I promised to help. If the only crime they committed was trespassing, because a wizard with a habit of disappearing on them told them to do it, that's hardly enough to keep them locked up! And you know it!"

"Yes, I know...but Adar can be a bit biased when it comes to dwarves. I admit I can be the same way, but not to the level as him. Something a long time ago, before Smaug took the mountain, caused a rift between him and the dwarves of Erebor, and though he likely won't keep them forever, it may be a while before they do actually get to leave."

"Well, hopefully it's sooner rather than later. As much as I want to stay and train Conner, I made a promise to them, and the promise comes first."

Legolas nods slowly, understanding her, then finishes off his wine."Are you ready to see them?"

Cricket finishes off hers as well as stands, cradling Conner, and nods to him."Lets go."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thranduil had finished speaking to Bofur, and sent him back to his cell, confidant he had achieved his goal, and had sown the correct seeds in the dwarfs thoughts. He considered today to be quite a success, and left the throne room to go to his study, enjoy a meal, and go to bed. He wanted Thorin to stew in his thoughts for at least two days before bringing him back to question him again, to see if he was more acceptable of the deal Thranduil had offered him.

Most likely , he wouldn't, but Thranduil hadn't been king this long without having a couple more tricks up his sleeve. He would give in soon enough.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cricket was led down to the cells slowly, as her legs still were a bit wobbily, and the first cell she came to she smiled broadly as Legolas left her to her reunions. The first cell held Bifur, who was so happy to see her he was speaking his native language before he remembered himself, and they spent a good while signing to each other, Bifur letting her know what had happened after she had fell in, about the spiders, about Bilbo being somewhere in the palace, sneaking around. He hadn't seen Bofur since he woke up, so she told him a bit about what had happened when they woke up(obviously skipping certain parts), and promised to check up on him.

As she went down the rows, she spoke with all of the dwarves, making sure they were ok, assuring them that she was fine, and that the elves weren't mistreating her, or sticking her down there with them. She didn't stick around anyone for too long, wanting to make sure she got to everyone before she was made to leave. Kili, Dwalin and Nori she stayed at the longest, as the latter two wanted to delve a little deeper into what the elves were doing with her, and what had happened while she was asleep. Kili had apparently told them, but they didn't really want to believe him. They wouldn't actually, if it hadn't been for one thing.

Kili had kept some of his new height.

He was now a permanent 3 inches taller, which was the main reason she had stuck at his cell for so long. Neither had any idea why, or knew if Bofur was the same way, but he was now 2 inches shorter than her, without the boots on. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not, but he told her it did remind him that their trip to her world had actually happened, which was agood thought, and he had several ideas he wanted to share with his brother. After letting his pet Conner through the bars, she had to leave him, and promised to come back as soon as she could.

The last cell she came to was Bofurs, and she didn't know it yet, but that was probably a very good thing.

Bofur had also kept a couple of inches, now an inch shorter than her. When she looked in, he was happy to see her at first, asking the general questions, was she ok, were they treating her well, and so on. However, when she asked his if he remembered what happened right before they were transported, his face turned cloudy, and her heart dropped a bit.

"Bofur, what's wrong?"

"Aye, I remember lass."

"Ok..do yo want to talk about it?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bofur swallowed hard, not anticipating what was to come next. A couple of the things Thranduil had said to made a lot of sense, and now he was determined to keep her safe. Even if it meant staying away from her.

Even if it made her hate him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about? We got drunk and messed around. Nothing special, we didn't even make it all the way."

"But you said you had waited a long time to kiss me..."

"Aye, I had, and now I got it out of the way."

"Bofur, you're acting really weird. Did something happen?" He was having a hard time pulling this off. She sounded close to tears, and all he wanted to do was pull her through the bars and hold her, to tell her he didn't mean any of it. But instead he pushed on, determined to see this through to the end.

"I think you're the one acting weird lass, don't we joke all the time about that kind of stuff? The drink just happened to make us act out a couple of those jokes that's all. Besides, didn't you say that kind of thing happens often over there?"

"Well, yea, but.."

"Well then, no harm, no foul."

She looks at him, heartbroken."Are you telling me you didn't feel anything at all?" she whispers, and again he ignores the urge to pull her in close.

"Was I supposed to?"

That hit her that hardest, and he can see it in the way her shoulders slump, and her eyes feel with tears. Loathing himself with every word spoken, he drives his point home.

"If you're going to act like a silly little girl, maybe you should stay here with all of these tree huggers. We don't need anyone in the company getting overally emotional over a bloody kiss that happened when you were drunk. Because that's all it was, a kiss."

She stares at him, tears running freely down her cheeks now, and her face hardens slightly."You're right, maybe I should stay here. Then I don't have to deal with perverted asshole dwarves all day! I can train Conner, and somehow find a way home, and never have to think of cruel jerks like you again!" She turns around and runs off, Nori trying to stop her as she passes to find out whats wrong, but she ignores him, eyes glistening, refusing to speak, as she runs up the stairs back to Legolas, who glares his way once he sees the state Cricket is in.

Go ahead, he thinks. Hate me. You can't hate me more than I hate myself right now.

~_Poor girl, having people she cares about in her position is almost a curse. She will constantly have to guard over them, putting her own life at risk. Family and loved ones are the first that get killed, or the easiest ones to go through to kill her. Her life will constantly be in danger_.~

I'm doing this to protect her.

~_Being torn between two worlds..it must be tough on her. I think that part of the reason she will be kept here, is that she doesn't want to let down the people she cares about here. She will most likely never see her family again, unless she falls in the water again, and that can be a death sentence in its own. She may do it, simply to see her family one last time_.~

I can't be the reason she never goes home, never sees her family again. No matter how much I lo...love her.

~_Conner could be trained to travel between realms, it is highly likely with his coloring. Unfortunately, since she is determined to go on this quest, he can't get the education he needs, and he won't stay without her. Such a shame_.~

If Conner can learn to travel between realms, she can go back and forth, and not have to choose. She can't continue the quest with is, Conner must come first.

~_If Thorin gets angry now, just wait til he is around all that gold, and the sickness kicks in. I'm not saying it will, but if it does, the first thing he is going to do is attack any threats he sees. Like a dragon, no matter how small it is. And dear Cricket will obviously protect her dragon. Who do you think Thorin will attack then_?~

I can't let Thorin hurt her.

~_You seem like a sensible sort, for a dwarf. Perhaps you could talk some sense into her_?~

If she hates me, she won't want to come on the quest, she won't die protecting any of us, she has a better chance of getting home. She can hate me, but she will be safe.

Nori yells at him from three cells away as she and the elf walk off, her shoulders still trembling."What the hell did you say to her?"

Lucky for me, no one can hate me more than I hate myself right now.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, while Conner and Legolas both tried to comfort her, she passed out on her bed, curled up into a ball, with Conner squeezed in the middle of her. Legolas never did find out what Bofur said to make her so upset, and she made him promise not to go and find out for himself.

Nori didn't find out that night either, though he vowed to as soon as he got a chance. He was very good at getting information out of people.

Bofur slept fitfully, dreams filled with images of Cricket crying, begging him not to say such cruel things to her.

Thranduil heard what had happened, and wondered if perhaps he had taken it a bit far, even if it did get the job done.

Bilbo slept in her room that night, not knowing why she was upset, but vowing to try and comfort her once she woke up, if he could.

Cricket, when she finally fell asleep, dreamt of the blackness, and felt nothing, though her heart still cried in pain.

_Do you hate me yet? I hated writing this...but it goes along with my story planned. If it helps, I am releasing an alternate scene of the bedroom scene back in Crickets world soon._


	17. Power Honing

Cricket woke up the next day at first not recognizing where she was, the last place she remembered falling asleep being her room. However, as she slowly uncurled from the ball she was in and felt Conner cuddled in the middle of her, dried tears on her cheeks, seeing the opulent room she was now in, it all came back to her in a rush, the only reason that wasn't crying again being that she had most likely dried herself out last night.

Sitting up slowly, she notices someone had thrown a soft blanket over her sometime as she slept, and it slides off her as she stretches, waking up Conner in the process. He tiredly blinks up at her and yawns, showing off a mouth full of teeth and a long pointed tongue.*Good morning Mama Cricket.*

"Morning Conner."

*Are you done crying now? When you're sad it makes me sad.*

"I'm still sad, but I think I'm done crying."

*Good, Legolas and me were worried about you. Hey, you know what makes me happy?*

"What's that?"

*Breakfast!*

She gives a tired laugh at the already hyper baby dragon."Is that so? You've been around Bombur and Bilbo too much. All right, let's go see if we can scrounge up some." She quickly pulls on her own peasant top with the pants Lady Corasont gave her, brushing her teeth to avoid morning breath and checking to make sure she doesn't look too haggard from crying all night, then steps cautiously out of the room with Conner."Um, Conner, do you remember the way to the dining hall?"

*No, I wasn't paying attention, sorry.*

Sighing heavily to herself, she stops the first elf that passes by, and hopes she speaks the common tongue."Excuse me, I don't know my way around here, which way to the dining hall?"

*We need breakfast so we can get happy!*

The elf seems a bit surprised at first at the two of them, but then smiles and gives brief but detailed instruction on how to get there. Luckily enough for them, it is just one floor downstairs, and as they reach it the most wonderful smells touch both of their noses, causing them both to close their eyes and breathe it in. She walks up to the table they have covered in food, and starts making a plate, loading it down for both of them, needing a lot of food for what she has planned for today. They both get a couple of curious looks as they take a seat and start in, mostly from the few children running around, but just like Legolas, most of them act like them being there is a normal thing.

Cricket and Conner have nearly finished half the plate, Cricket taking a break to sip her coffee, when a bemused looking Legolas takes a seat in front of her."I didn't expect you to be up this early, after last night. I actually went by your room, planning on seeing if you were up for something to eat, but the chamber maid said you had already left."

"Yea, sorry about that. Conner said breakfast would make me happy again, so we decided to go ahead and get some."

"Are you going to tell me what that dwarf said to make you so upset?"

"No, and please don't push the issue. It's between me and him, and that's all you need to know for now. You knowing won't make the situation any better."

"As you wish." He says, inclining his head at her in respect of her decision.

"Besides, I already have a plan to turn it into something positive."

He raises an eyebrow at her."And what's that?"

"Sparring. And I want to learn how Conner and I can help each other in a fight. I want to take all of my negative emotions and use them to push myself."

"That's a smart idea." He says, smiling at her."As it is, my father has freed my of my duties while you are here to help with your training. I believe he even has a lesson or two for you. So if you need a sparring partner, I would be honored to fill in."

"That would be great, thank you." They both look over at Conner, who has finally stopped eating, crumbs all over his snout from the cake he wolfed down."What do you say Conner, do you want to practice your powers with Legolas? If you're finished eating, that is."

*Yes please! I like turning into a tattoo, can I do more things like that?*

Legolas laughs and scratches behind his horn, causing Conners leg to twitch."Of course little one, but for now we will practice with the two of you in a fight. That will most likely come more in handy than anything else, especially with orcs roaming around more and more."

"Exactly." Cricket says, agreeing with him whole-heartedly."The faster we learn that, the easier everything else should be."

*Ok, if you think so.*

"I do."

"Then if you are done eating, we can go ahead and head down to the training area." Legolas says, standing up and offering her his hand."Unless you need to get some things out of your room first, or change?"

"I do need my weapons out of my room still, but what I'm wearing should be good. The shirt and pants both give me plenty of room to move around in."

"All right then, let's go get your stuff and head down to the training area. Come on Conner." Legolas holds out his arm for Conner, letting him climb up and settle around his neck before walking out of the dining hall.

"I swear, he likes you about as much as he likes Kili." Cricket comments once she retrieves her short swords and belt from her room, glancing at the two of them."And here I was, afraid he wouldn't have any friends."

"Who's Kili?"

"Kili is one of the dwarves in my company, the youngest I believe. He is also one of the dwarves who fell into the water with me, and somehow woke up a couple of inches taller. He and Conner became fast friends, and he actually is as interested as I am in how to care for him. Kili helped to teach him to fly, as well, along with his brother."

"That's surprising, considering how most dwarves feel about dragons, though his age may have a great deal to do with it. He may not feel the same hate as the others do."

"He isn't as gung-ho against elves either." She says, getting another surprised look from him."He actually respects all of you quite a bit, especially for your bow skills, being a bowman himself."

"Hmm, I might actually like to meet this Kili." Legolas says thoughtfully.

"He might like that. The other dwarves give him hell about his weapon of choice at times, and it would be nice for him to talk about it with someone who doesn't look down on him for it."

Legolas stays quiet for a while as they walk, and she can almost see the gears in his head turning."I may do that." He says after a while, and Cricket smiles to herself. Maybe she could make Conners two friends be friends as well.

They make it to the training area, sparsely packed at this time, and Cricket pulls on her sword belt, clipping it together just tight enough to not fall off her hips, her two short swords in the back. She begins stretching a bit to warm up her muscles, Legolas doing the same beside her, Conner watching them both as he sits on a ledge. Once they are done, Legolas turns to Cricket with an almost excited look on his face.

"All right, for the beginning of your training, I'm going to teach you and Conner to meld your minds in way, that way during battle you can pull on each others powers. In fact, it's not really melding your minds, but just pulling on the bond your souls have with each other, tightening it, to heighten your instincts, your abilities, and your strengths. That will be your greatest asset as a Dragonknight, and eventually it will become second nature to you, much like breathing. It will also make it easier for you to practice your other abilities, even discover them, once you have this down."

Cricket and Conner both listen closely to his every word, ready to really discover what they can do, Conner almost more so than his bondmate, as he had memories running through him of all his ancestors different powers, and was excited to know if he could do any of them. He was actually more still than he had ever been, sitting and listening intently as Legolas went on.

"Conner."

*Yes?"

"I need you to become a tattoo on Cricket for now."

*How come?*

"Since this is your first time, it will be easier for the both of you to focus on each other if you are physically connected. Also, since you are still young, this shape will be safest for you when she is having to fight, instead of having to worry about a physical form."

*Oh..that makes sense.* Cricket smiles over at him and holds out her arm, and Conner immediately begins shrinking and evaporating into the sparkling blue dust, reappearing wrapped around her wrist. Legolas watches and nods approvingly.

"That's a good sign, he seems to have gotten becoming another form down very fast. That will make what my father wants to help teach much simpler."

"Yea, Dwalin's a pretty good teacher. He somehow taught me to fight, after all."

"Which I'm grateful for." Legolas say, walking closer to Cricket and standing in front of her."For the next part...Conner, can you still hear me?"

*Yep!*

"Good. For the next part, I need the two of you to concentrate, ignore everything else around you except for my voice. Focus on your bond, focus on it until you can actually see a physical manifestation of it. Tell me when you can see it." Cricket nods and closes her eyes. She blocks out the birds in the trees, the sounds of the bows shooting, of elves talking, until everything is silent. She then focuses on the faint pulse inside her she has felt since Conner pressed his head to hers in Beorns cabin, causing the enormous iridescent wings to burst from the two of them. She focuses on that pulse, on its steady beat of life inside her, until it slowly starts to actually show up in front of her, a bright, shimmering blue ball of light in the center, with similar colored, intricately done braids seeming to stem from it, branching off in every direction. As she looks on in awe, a small version of Conner seems to come into being beside her, a look of childlike wonder on his face as he takes in the actual sight of their bond.

"I..think we see it." Cricket says softly.

"We?"

"Yes, Conner is there as well. It's beautiful, and warm, and so bright. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it."

"Good, that's very good." Legolas says, raising his eyebrow in surprise as his father comes silently into view, quietly sitting at one of the benches around the training area to watch their progress. He nods his head at Legolas, who nods back and continues."Now, I want the two of you to touch your bond."

Do you want me to touch the core, or one of the braids coming out from it?"

"What do you mean braids?"

"Well, there is a bright core to it, but then there are several braid or rope-like protrusions coming from it as well, stretching in almost every direction. Some of them reach out far enough that I can't see where they end, but some of them are just within arms reach, and they're all glowing with the same blue shimmer as the core."

"For now, just touch the core, we need you to feel your bond as deeply as you can."

"All right." Crickets form next to the bond steps forward, along with Conners, and she places a hand tentatively on the glowing core. Once Conner does the same, only with his tail instead, she feels an immediate change in the bond, and as she continues to hold her hand to it, the core starts to glow brighter, and a braid wraps itself around her wrist, doing the same for his tail. Inner her gasps as she can feel an energy running through, Conner doing the same, and suddenly she can see inside of his mind, as all of his memories of his ancestors run through her at once, through both of them, and suddenly its as if the two of them are one being.

Legolas looks on as the mark on her neck, as well as the tattoo of Conner, begins to glow brightly, and he can almost see the energy rippling through her, bending the air around her as if there is an intense heat only in the space surrounding her."Cricket, are the two of you ok? What's going on?"

She suddenly opens her eyes, which are glowing the same bright blue as her mark, and the energy intensifies for a couple of seconds, this time with faints trails of the blue dust that appears when Conner changes forms."I.." The energy slowly dissipates, and her eyes fade to their normal blue, the mark only glowing slightly now."I can feel him so closely now..I don't even think we would have to talk now, to know what each other wanted."

"That's what makes you so dangerous, once properly trained." Legolas says, proud they have gotten it down so fast."What happened when you touched the core?"

"A braid from it wrapped around my wrist, and his tail, and suddenly I could feel everything about him, and his memories ran through my head. Then a power, and energy, started coursing through us, and about the time I felt I could explode from it all, I felt like it was time to stop focusing and open my eyes."

"Do you think you would be up for that spar now? To test you out, now that you are more closely attuned to one another?"

"I..yes. I think I am."

"Good. Now, while we are sparring, I want to the two of you to continue to keep that bond in the back of your mind, to exercise your ability to stay connected during stressful situations."

"Ok, let's do this." Conner is strangely quiet, but something tells her is doing so to keep her concentration on the spar, so not to distract her, the same something constantly letting her know he is there. She follows Legolas to the center of the area and faces him, about ten feet apart.

"Are you ready?" He asks, hands on his blades. She nods, putting her hands on the hilts of Silme and Estel.

"Ready when you are."

They both stand silently, each one waiting for the other to make a first move, Legolas narrows his eyes at her, and she tightens her grip on her hilts, breathing in deeply. Suddenly Legolas bursts forward, blades out, and before she can even think hers are out meeting his in a clang of metal on metal. They meet each other strike for strike, neither managing to get a leg up on one another as their blades dance.

Cricket parries a blow from Legolas and attempts to kick his legs out from under him, causing him to leap over her leg to dodge, and her blades come up to block him from the top as he leaps. Landing behind her, aims for a spot on her shoulder and attempts to tap, only to touch air as she spins around to the side and taps his lower thigh.

"Point for me." She says, a small smile on her face. It was a lot different sparring with an elf, rather than a dwarf. Not only for the size, but for the fact that they didn't rely so much on strength, as they did their skill. Luckily Fili wasn't quite as bad, seeing as he fought with the same type of blade as her, but there was still going to be that difference in styles.

"You're right, your teacher taught you very well." Legolas says inclining his head at her."If you have really only been in this realm for a mere couple of months, your progress is quite good. Now, again!"

They do this several times over, both of them getting in hits, both of them testing each other to the limit. Legolas had not had a spar like this in quite some time, and was enjoying in immensely, as well as enjoying testing how far her abilities extended, now that she was connected more closely by their bond. She seemed tireless, fueled by the initial energy gained from the first physical touch of hers bonds core, though he knew once they were done, she would need a rest and lots of food.

Thranduil continued to watch from his seat next to the training area, taking in her fighting skills as well, but also checking on her mental state. Legolas had come into his study fuming last night, pacing back and forth angrily, saying that one of the dwarves had said something bad enough to her last night to make her cry herself to sleep last night, but she wouldn't tell him which one it was, or what he had said. While surprised at how defensive of the girl his son was, his initial thought was that maybe his plan had worked a bit too well, that perhaps he had gone too far to try to keep her here. As his son left his study, Thranduil wondered how he might try to make it up to her, in his own way.

Watching her fight now, he wondered how much of it was fueled by the anger of how she had been treated last night, whether it was a conscious thought or not, considering how ferocious her attacks were becoming, the way she began to move around the ring, swords in hand, mark still faintly glowing. The fact that she was able to keep up with her son at all meant the bond was strong, considering the difference in how long each of them had been trained. Once again, he found himself wondering just how powerful she would be, and whether she was, in fact, simply a dragonknight. The last one had been Smaug and his bondmate...and Sauron had gone after them first. Smaug had taken the brunt of whatever curse Sauron had placed on the species, and had even tried to go into a hibernation once his bondmate had been murdered, but the same curse ended up waking him, and sending him to Erebor.

Thranduil had been there when his bondmate had been murdered, and had felt the heat of the dragons fire, as he realized he was now alone. He now had a glamour covering half of his face, to mask the damage done.

For their sake, he hoped they would never have to deal with a similar evil. But then again, Smaugs bondmate had in truth been a weak man, often bitter about the responsibilities thrust upon him from bonding with his dragon, and in turn, Smaug had become bitter as well. Cricket on the other hand..he did not sense any of that from her. She truly seemed to love her young charge, and though she missed her family, was whole heartedly into learning to care for him, as well as jump headfirst into learning how their powers worked.

No, she was not weak.

As they go into their third hour of sparring, both now dripping with sweat, Legolas somehow manages to knock one of her swords from her hand, and sends it skidding across the floor. She tries to head for it, but he blocks her path, swinging down for a final blow. She freezes in place for a moment as Thranduil continues to watch as Cricket thinks very fast, and suddenly moves before she can be hit, running up to a pillar, Legolas on her tail. She then seems to run halfway off the pillar and leap off into the air, holding out her hand and yelling "Estel!" He had not actually had a chance to get a good look at her weapons yet, so was shocked to the core as the sword he knew as hope reappeared in her hand, and she landed behind Legolas, placing both at his neck as he stilled.

"Match."

Legolas turned to her as she removed the swords from his neck, grinning from ear to ear."That's enough for today, I don't think I could last another spar like that! You were amazing!" He continues to grin as Conner manifests back as a dragon, and the two of them seem to slump, their energy finally spent.

"Thanks." She says as she sways a bit, hair damp from sweat, body aching from bruises soon to come."I'm pretty exhausted now though. Is that normal?"

"Absolutely. It will get easier as you keep doing it, but the first time will always drain you like this. Fortunately for you I was prepared for this, and have a large lunch waiting for us back in your room, one that should help bring your energy back up a bit."

*Mama Cricket, I'm sleepy.* Conner says, yawning on the ground.*Can we just go back to bed now?*

"Don't you want some fish?" Cricket says, as Legolas bends over and picks up the tired dragon."We are going to go eat, but I suppose if you would rather sleep..."

*I can stay awake longer for food. Food is good. I like food.*

"I know you do." She says, smiling at the half asleep dragon in his arms."I do too. Shall we go get some, before I fall on my face?"

*Uh huh.*

Legolas offers her his arm once more, and as they walk off, he looks over to where his father was, only to see an empty seat. Wondering why he didn't stay to talk about their match, he looks back ahead, leading them to her room for lunch and to discuss what had happened when she had touched upon their bond.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So now that we have initially touched it, it will be easier to reach it?" Cricket asks once they finish the meal Legolas had sent to their room, Conner now curled into a ball on the bed, asleep. Legolas nods and takes another sip of water.

"Yes. You will still need to practice obviously, but the more you do, the less tired you will be from using it."

"And, because we can use it now, we can discover his powers easier?"

"Your powers, and yes."

"Sorry, I know you have already gone over all this, I just like to double-check."

"It's fine, don't apologize for checking on your facts."

"So, how exactly do we go about figuring them out then?"

"Unfortunately, a great deal of it will be simple experimenting, or it will happen out of nowhere, in the heat of the moment. But because you are connected closer now, they should start appearing. Now, some of the actual bondmate powers we can touch on, the ones that go along with every bonded pair. Other than that..."

"It's a guessing game." Cricket finishes with a sigh, and Legolas nods."Well, as long as we don't destroy any towns while figuring them out, it should be fine. In fact, if we come near a town, I will probably have him stay as a tattoo, so people won't freak out."

"While that is the best way to go, you may not need to worry about that for too much longer."

Cricket looks at him curiously."Why's that?" she asks.

"My father wants to train him on his shapeshifting abilities, so that he can take on a human appearance when needed. In fact, now that he knows you can touch upon your bond, he may want to start right away."

"I had read in the journal that they could do that, but I guess I really didn't think much about it. That would come in handy, for sure."

"As fast as he took to the tattoo form, he may find it a simple thing to do. How was he taught to do it before?"

"Dwalin told him to imagine himself turning into a tattoo, what he wanted to look like, where he wanted to go, and to just see himself doing it. He actually managed to do it the first time around."

"That's amazing, it may be that his main core of powers lie with shapeshifting, which would be why he takes to it so fast. Of course, I can't say for sure about that, but if so, keeping him concealed may not be an issue."

"Do you know if his age will be the same, or can he look older than he is?"

"Generally they will look the same age as they actually are. We won't know until the first time he shifts, though."

"I'm actually kind of curious to see what he will look like." She says, a large yawn escaping her mouth."When can we start?"

"Why don't you take a quick nap to restore some of your stamina, and when you wake, we can see how you are feeling and go from there?"

"Sounds like a plan." She says, standing up. Legolas stands as well and walks towards the door."Hey, Legolas?" He turns before he goes through the door and looks at her."Thank you for your help. It really means a lot to me."

He gives her a soft smile that touches his eyes."Thank you for allowing me to. It brings me back to the days of having hatchlings roaming the halls again." He then gives a short bow and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Once he is gone, she climbs up on the bed next to Conner and closes her eyes, falling into a sleep not 5 minutes later.

As he closes the door, Legolas smiles to himself, finding himself enjoying her and the dragons company much more than he thought he would. As he begins to walk through the halls, a thought strikes him, and he changes course, heading down to the dungeons to speak with the dwarf she named as Kili.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cricket and Conner both wake up fully refreshed at the same time, and she finds herself stretching in tune with him, giggling afterwards at the sight of him stretched out on his back, all four clawed feet in the air, big smile on his face. She tickles his stomach, causing him to wiggle his entire body, which just makes her giggle harder.

"Did you enjoy your nap?" She asks once she has stopped tickling his feet(which happen to be very ticklish.), and he has sat upright.

*I did, and I had really good dreams!*

"What about?"

*I dreamed that I was playing near the water, swooping down and running my claws through it, and I caught a fish bigger than me! And then Mister Bombur cooked it, and I ate the entire thing!*

"It's a good thing you run around so much, or you would be as big as a house." she jokes to him as she hears the door to the room open and close. However, when she looks over there is no one there. Furrowing her brow in confusion, she looks around the room for whoever could have come in."Hello, is anyone there?"

"Over here, miss Cricket." She looks to the corner of the room the voice had come from, and much to her surprise Bilbo appears out of nowhere, his hand going quickly into his pocket to hide whatever he had pulled off his finger. It seems to strike a chord somewhere deep in her brain, but as soon as she thinks she has it a fog goes over it.

"Bilbo! I was worried about you!"She says, standing up and giving him a big hug."Why are you hiding from the elves? Why aren't you with everyone else?"

"I hid when the regiment came to drive off the spiders, and followed everyone here." He says, going over to her table and grabbing a couple of loaves of bread and sticking them in his pocket for later."I have been hiding ever since. I have wanted to try to speak with you several times, but you have had that elf with you ever since you woke up!"

"I'm sorry Bilbo. Wait, how have you hidden this long without being caught?"

He shuffles his feet nervously, and hand automatically goes back to his waistcoat pocket. Cricket notices the motion and eyes narrow on his pocket."Bilbo, what do you have in your pocket that you are so keen on keeping hidden?"

His face falls, knowing she won't let it go, and pulls his hand out to reveal a gleaming golden ring. she stares at it, sensing something she can't quite place, and again there is that foggy thought in the back of her mind."This is how you have been hiding?"

"Yes. I found it in the goblin mountain. Somehow it has the power to turn me invisible."

"Ok, so then why are you hiding from the elves? I thought you liked them?"

"These elves are different, not as peaceful as the elves of Rivendale. I was going to reveal myself, before I saw them putting everyone else into cells except for you."

"Legolas says the king is deciding what to do about our trespassing in their woods. Gandalf kind of forgot to tell us we needed permission before we tromped on through."

"Gandalf does have a bad habit of not telling us everything we need to know." Bilbo agrees, sitting on the bed tiredly."However, we do still need to get out of here so we can finish the quest. I didn't leave my home for an adventure, just to be stopped by a little thing like most of the company being put in jail."

"Bilbo Baggins, what would your parents say if they could see you now?" Cricket says, smiling gently at him.

"My mother would honestly greatly approve, she was always the adventuress type. My father would be looking at me and shaking his head, telling me to go home and settle down like a normal hobbit. All this traveling isn't natural for a Baggins. A Took yes, but not a Baggins."

"Good thing you have the best of both in you then, huh?" He looks at her and gives her frown, then just shrugs, munching on a piece of leftover cheese.

"So, the elf prince and you seem to be getting along well. And they haven't put you in a cell, which is a good thing."

"They are teaching me how access Conner and I's abilities as bondmates while deciding what to do about our trespassing. Legolas has been a great help, and Conner likes him a lot. He seems to like Conner as well."

"That is all well and good." Bilbo says, looking her square in the eye."But what happens if Thranduil decides to not let them leave? He seems to hold a grudge against dwarves almost as large as the ones the dwarves have against elves. I heard a conversation between him and Thorin, and he wants some kind of precious silver jewels that come from inside the mountain. What if he keeps them all here out of spite?"

Cricket sees his point of view and sighs to herself, knowing he is right."Then we will just have to figure out a backup plan. Is there any way out of here none of the elves would expect them to take?"

"None that I have found, but I haven't explored every inch of the palace yet. I did hear the guards talking about some kind of festival going on at the end of the week. That would be a good time to try to escape if we needed to."

"Go ahead and keep looking, and tell me if you discover anything. In the meantime, I'll keep practicing with Conner, and see if I can convince Thranduil to let us leave so we won't have to escape. Where have you been sleeping, by the way?"

Bilbo blushes a deep red, which makes her curiosity peak, and he seems hesitant to speak."I..have been sneaking into Thorins cell at night when they give him his last meal of the night, then sneaking back out at breakfast. Thorin is too far from everyone else to get to talk to them, so I have been keeping him company."

"Don't the guards hear you talking?"

"The guards don't actually stand outside his door. They stay outside in the hallway, far enough that they can't hear anything we say. We still mainly whisper though, just in case. He shares his food with me as well."

"That's very sweet of him." Cricket says with a mischievous smile. It seems the two of them were finally locked in a room together after all."Does he know you have a crush on him?"

If possible Bilbo turns an even darker shade of red, and sputters at her question. She merely stares at him while he has his mini freak out, and after a while he stops, and looks at her wearily."How..how did you know? I haven't tried anything!"

"Bilbo, I have seen all the little glances you give him. It's kind of impossible not to notice, if you know what to look for." She says, patting him on the back."It's not a bad thing though. I'm pretty sure he has a crush on you as well."

"What would give you that idea?"

"Because he gives you the same kind of glances that you give him. It's actually kind of cute, though I wish the two of you would go beyond shy little glances already. Why don't you tell him how you feel?"

"Because." Bilbo says softly, looking down at his curly-haired feet."He's a king. And a dwarf. And I'm just a silly little hobbit with a crush on someone it is highly improper to have a crush on. When he finally takes the mountain back, do you think he would spare me a second glance?"

"You won't know unless you try, Bilbo. You have to actually talk to him about it, instead of just letting it sit between you for the rest of the quest. He may surprise you. Or is it the simple fact that the both of you are males?"

"Well..it is considered improper to try to court a male when you could be settling down and starting a family where I come from." Bilbo admits."But, I have unfortunately never saw a lady I felt that way about. And I have no idea how the dwarves go about it."

"Go back to Thorins cell tonight and tell him our plan, then try to talk to him about how you feel, however you see fit. If he doesn't seem to feel the same way, then let it go, at least you tried. But if he seems to reciprocate your feelings...then you can go from there." Cricket says, standing up and going to the table, wrapping up some more of the food."And bring this with you, that way both of you can have a proper meal, instead of sharing one. Meet me again when you can, and we can decide what direction we need to keep going."

Bilbo nods, giving Conner a gentle stroke down his back before standing up and taking his ring back out."Thank you for the advice, and for the food. I will meet again with you again as soon as I can." He then slips the ring back on and disappears from view, the door opening and closing once more as he lets himself out silently. Cricket looks over at Conner and nods, silently letting know not to let anyone know Bilbo is in the palace.

A good thing he left when he did, as not ten minutes later, Legolas knocks on the door, letting himself in when she says he can come in.

"Did you enjoy your nap?" He asks with a smiles.

"Sure did, both of us are completely charged now. We even seemed to have synced up a bit, both of us woke at the same time, and stretched the same way once we woke up."

*Yea, and then she tickled my belly and wouldn't stop, and I was twisting and kicking.* Cricket snorts at his exclamation as Legolas looks on amused.

"That sounds like fun." He says, walking further into the room."I actually took some of your advice while you were asleep, to alleviate some of my curiosity."

"Oh yea, what did you do?"

"I went down to talk to the dwarf you spoke of, the one named Kili. He is..tall, for a dwarf."

She smiles broadly at him."You did, that's great! How did it go?"

"He..isn't bad, for a dwarf. He was very interested in archery, as you said, and even seemed to want to learn from us sometime. He is very accepting, I must say, and was quite polite, though a bit young in some aspects."

"Yea, he can be at times. In my world, he would be considered younger than I am. As to the taller thing, I think that's a after effect of being in my world. He was about a foot taller there, and when he was sent back, some of must have stuck."

"It will not help stop the jokes from his fellow dwarves...in fact it may encourage them further. He was worried about that."

"I don't blame him, from what I have heard of what they have said back in the blue mountains. That's why I kind of wanted you to talk to him. I wanted him to have a conversation with someone who wouldn't make fun of him for it, other than from someone he considers family."

"Who does he consider family that tells him that already?"

"Me." She says much to his surprise. "He's decided that I'm his adopted sister, no matter what Thorin says. It's kind of nice, having some sort of family here. A few of the other dwarves have decided they are my substitute family as well. Though I'm pretty sure a lot of that is so they can beat up anyone who tries to court me."

"Well, I didn't hate talking with him, I will say that." Legolas says as he absorbs what she just told him."And I'm glad he considers you family as well. It means he will protect you, no matter what. I wouldn't mind teaching him a couple of tricks someday."

*Kili is my friend.* Conner says out of the blue, causing them both to look over at him.*And you are my friend too. I like my friends being friends together. Its more fun doing pranks on people that way!*

Cricket shakes her head at him in amusement, while Legolas gives a little laugh."I wouldn't say we are friends quite yet little one, but I wouldn't say we are enemies either."

"That's better than nothing." Cricket says, and Legolas nods.

"Well, do you think you would be up for meeting up with my father now that you are well rested, to continue your training?"

"Definitely. What about you Conner?"

*Lets go, I like learning new things! What do I get to learn this time?*

"With any luck, how to pull off a human type form." Legolas says as they exit the room.

*You mean, I can look like Mama Cricket?* Conner asks excitedly.

"Yes, except you will be a boy, not a girl. And much younger than her, as well."

*That's so cool!* Conner squeals, and once again Cricket shakes her head, this time at the fact he has started picking up some of her phrases.

They head to his study this time instead of the throne room, for a more comfortable practice area, as this time most of the work will be done by Conner. As they enter the study, Thranduil is once again staring off into the forest, and Legolas clears his throat, announcing their presence. The king turns slowly to face them, the look of calm still on his face, seeming to be the exact opposite of Thorins constant brooding.

"Welcome. I take it you are fully rested from your sparring session this morning?"

"Yes, your highness." She says, giving a little curtsy."We are both ready for whatever you have planned for us to learn this time." He gives the tiniest hint of a smile, and walks closer.

"It looks favorably on you that you are so prepared to learn as much as you can. Take a seat." He says, gesturing to a large armchair to the side of her, and she sits down, accepting a glass of wine from Legolas as Conner sits on her lap."This will not be quite a chore for you, as it is the little one, but he will be absorbing some of your energy to perform the next task, so it will be better for you to be relaxed. I suspect it will not even be that hard for him to perform."

"Why do you want him to learn it so early then?" She asks curiously.

"So that he can practice keeping the form around others. So that eventually it will take barely any energy for him to change at all. That way, you can stay safe and hidden among those that would look unfavorably on you at first."

*Will it help keep Mama Cricket safe as well?* Conner breaks in, a tinge of worry in his voice.

"Yes little one, it will."

*Then please teach me, I wanna help protect her. I don't wanna put her in danger.*

"Oh Conner." Cricket says, giving him a little hug."You don't put me in danger."

*That's very brave of you, to want to protect her" Thranduil says gently."I will help you, if that is what you want."

*It is.*

"Then come to this chair in front of me, and sit down." Conner jumps off of Crickets lap and onto the chair that Thranduil is standing in front of, looking up at him expectantly."Now, I want you to tap into the bond, like you did this morning, can you do that for me?"

*Yes.* Conner closes his eyes, and Cricket can feel bond strengthening through him, knowing the exact moment he is there.*Now what?*

Thranduil comes closer and places a forefinger on Conners forehead, and there is a brief glow of light between them before he removes it, Cricket feeling the information that passes between the two of them. There is a moment where Conner sucks in his breath, and Cricket can feel the energy gathering, almost feeling a phantom version of the braid around her wrist as the energy swirls around Conner, just like when he is changing into a tattoo, but much stronger this time, much more potent. Thranduil backs up as the swirls become larger, encompassing the chair now, and she know the moment it is finished, as almost all the energy is once again sapped from her.

The blue swirls finally begin to vanish, and Cricket holds her breath, not knowing what to expect, with Legolas and Thranduil both looking on in fascination. Once they are gone, any thoughts of it going badly disappears with the reveal of a small boy now sitting in the chair in the place of Conner, looking about 2 years old, with thick, curly black-blue hair, long eyelashes attached to a pair of big blue eyes, peach colored skin, and a mark next his eye not unlike the one on Crickets neck.

And he was naked.

*Did it work?* The boys asks, Conners childlike voice coming from his mouth. Legolas grins, and Cricket can't help but giggle at how cute he is, scooping him up and swirling him around in her arms.

"Oh Conner, it worked great! You're my cute little genius!" She says, sitting down with him plopped in her lap. She looks up at Thranduil."Do you have a mirror?"

"Right here." He says, handing her a small hand mirror, and she holds it in front of Conners face.

"Look at you now!" Conner peeks at the mirror and a grin splits his face. He stands up and jumps up and down on her lap, forgetting he is larger now.

"It worked, it worked! Now I can turn into a tattoo, and a person!"

"Yes, and as a person you need clothes, you naked scamp." Cricket says, and Legolas smothers down a snort."Are you tired at all from changing this time?"

"No, not as much as last time."

"That's because he took a lot of energy from you." Thranduil says, taking back the hand mirror, and handing her a blanket to wrap around the naked toddler."He needed to be able to still focus on his form after he changed, so I told him how to do it that way. From now on, I want to you to spend every half a day like this for practice, that way you can get used to it."

"Do I have to wear clothes?" Conner whines, reminding her of her nephew. Luckily, Thranduil and Legolas both give full on smiles this times, both saying "Yes." to the misfortune of the toddler.

"Why don't you take him to the tailor after finishing off that wine, and get him some clothes. They take the rest of the day to relax, you have accomplished quite a bit today. You should be proud."

"I am."she says, glancing lovingly at her charge in his new form as he squirms, wanting to run around and test his new legs."Thank you very much."

"It was my honor." Thranduil says as she gulps down her wine and stands up, blanket still wrapped around the naked Conner. As he leads her out, however, she has a thought, and turns around, quickly.

"Um, your highness?"

He looks at her questioningly."Yes?"

"Have you made a decision about my company yet by chance? I'm sure they are going insane, trapped in those cells."

His face freezes for a moment before quickly going back to its usual mask, the only sign left being the cold in his eyes not matching the calm in his face."Not yet. I am still asking them question, which they seem to have a hard time answering. Soon, though. Now, if you will excuse me."

That is implied to be her permission to leave, and she curtesies again, turning around and leaving, a heavy weight in her heart as she thinks about the look in his eyes."Bilbo was right after all, he may not be planning on letting them leave." She thinks to herself as they walk down the hall."We need to find a way for them to escape, fast." She doesn't want to betray the people who have helped her so much, but they can't treat her friends like that. She has to help them.

As all of this races through her mind, she feels Conner slip from her grasp, and suddenly there is a laughing, naked toddler running through the halls, Legolas and Cricket hot on his heels.

"Conner, come back here now, you can't run around naked!"

"I do what I want!"

Yep, definitely learning too much from her. No more movies on the tablet for him.

_Sooo no reconciliation yet, not for a bit yet. Sorry. I am putting out a chapter in my deleted and alternate scenes section soon though, the first in many, so keep an eye out for that. However, some of them, if not all of them, may be...racy. Maybe too racy for this site...if so, I will provide a link to my other story acount for you, so you can enjoy the action as well. Hehe, action._

_I am also going to try and do up a picture of little human Conner as well soon._

_What did you think? Fight scenes are really not something I'm that good at, so cut me a bit of slack, I am trying._


	18. Feat of Starlight, interupted

The next couple of days go by relatively the same way, with one or two exceptions, mainly being smaller lessons about what they can and cannot do with the bond.

Cricket and Legolas would spar first thing every morning after breakfast, helping to train her and Conner both to practice focusing on the bond. It would still tire both of them out afterward, but after 4 days, she could finally tell that it was making a difference, and that they weren't quite as worn out as they had been when they first started. Not only that, but both of them connected to the bond much easier and faster now, and neither had to focus as much to initially make contact, though they still did when fighting, for practice.

Conner did, admittedly, have a bit more trouble focusing than she did, but they were working on that, seeing as it probably had a lot to do with his age, and he could easily be distracted. Especially when it's so close to lunchtime, and the smells of freshly baked bread and fish were drifting in the air, causing him to inhale deeply through her nose. Legolas managed to get a good shot in that time, knocking her flat on her ass, laughing when she told him the reason she hesitated for a moment.

"It's not that big a deal now, seeing as you are in a safe place and just practicing at the moment." Legolas said afterward at lunch, Watching as Conner dives headfirst into his own plate of fish."But at the same time, it's why we are actually practicing, so he can learn to focus his attention better. That way when you're in a battle that requires the strictest of attention, there will be no chance of loosing focus at a point that might cost you your lives."

"Believe me, I know how hard it can be to get a toddler to focus, I watched my nephew for the first four years of his life. Lucky for me, I knew what would grab his attention." She glances over to where Conner has already finished off half his plate."Apparantly fish is Conners weakness. I also know how important this training is for the both of us. The last thing I want is to put people in danger because either of our attentions drifted."

He smiles, buttering a roll."Considering the progress both of you have made in such a short amount of time, I have no doubt the two of you will have it mastered before that will ever be a problem."

Along with the morning sparring, every day after lunch(and generally a short nap), Conner would now change into his human form, and keep it up til at least bedtime, to practice keeping the form around other people. Like his tattoo form, he took to it like a fish in water. That's not to say that the first couple of times he didn't end up with a tail in the back of him still, or small horns curving out from his black-blue curls, but she wasn't entirely convinced that he didn't do that on purpose. However, he wasn't allowed to leave her room until he looked completely normal, except for the small mark under his eye.

Legolas assured her that is was normal, and merely his version of the dragonknight mark on her neck. And while he couldn't get rid of it, he could be taught to cover it with a small glamour, which was easy to learn and maintain, especially for someone in touch with powers like he was. Thranduil took an afternoon to teach it to him, and soon after that Conner was running around the entire palace, mark free.

Having Conner in human form reminder her just how much fun...and work, a two-year old could be. He also reminded her a lot of her nephew at that age, which made her not miss home quite as much. Not only did she have to wrestle clothes on him every time he changed(Legolas said eventually he would be able to shift with clothes still on him, thank goodness), but he was just as hyper in that form as he was his original. More often than not, she would find herself chasing him down hallways, a grin on both of their faces, as well as amused smiles on the faces of most that they passed, usually ending with Legolas or one of the guards cornering and scooping him up. He would then be handed back to her(or held on to, if Legolas) while he giggled crazily, calming down just enough to look up at her with his big innocent blue eyes, smile, and hug her tightly around the neck.

Yep, he had her wrapped around his chubby little finger.

And not just her, either. He seemed to charm everyone he came into contact with. When they went to dinner, random elves would come up and slip him little treats onto his plate they thought he would like, gaining a cheerful grin from him as he would thank them excitedly(Cricket insisted on him learning good manners), and stuff whatever it was into his mouth. Elven children would come up to him with kittens or baby squirrels, letting him stroke the soft animals fur in wonder before running off to wherever they had come from. Legolas even gave him a toy bow and arrow set, which he couldn't actually shoot, but loved to pretend that he could, and would ride of Legolases shoulders pretending to shoot orcs.

Even Bilbo couldn't help but be charmed by him when he finally showed back up.

Three days after sending Bilbo to look for another way out, she gets another visit from him in her room. Her and Conner had just came back from dinner, and after saying goodnight to Legolas had closed the door to her room, tired after a particularly long and busy day. Conner was going to be spending his first full night in his human form, and was rolling around on the bed in a nightshirt much too big for him, and Cricket had just exited the bathroom in hers when she saw her bedroom door open and close slightly. A few seconds later Bilbo pops into view, pocketing the ring quickly as Cricket looks down at him, relieved to see him again.

"Bilbo, you're back! I was starting to get worried about you!"

"Yes well, it takes a while to explore a place like this." He says, a bit huffily, moving over to nab a loaf of bread before taking a seat in the armchair across from her."Where's Conner? I never see him too from your side."

Cricket smiles, about to tell him, when there is a quiet giggle from her bed, and a section of blankets lift up, revealing a curly head of hair, eyes peeking out from a soft brown fleece blanket."Hi Mista Bilbo!" Conner says, grinning at him."I mada blanket fort!"

Bilbo gapes at him, recognizing the voice, but not the body attached to it."Oh dear, did I miss something?"

"Not really, Conner can just change into another form now." Cricket says as Conner waves at the surprised hobbit."Now he has a human form, as well as a tattoo form. Pretty neat, huh?"

"That will definitely help with keeping him hidden, I suppose." Bilbo says finally, blinking as Conner closes his eyes, and his little horns appear."Now, that's definitely something you don't see every day."

Cricket laughs as Conner climbs off the bed, running around to skid to a halt in from if Bilbo. He smiles sweetly at the hobbit for a couple of seconds before holding out his hand to him, which has a broke in half cookie in it."Here ya go, Mama Cwicket says you need more foods." Conner says, baby lisp more pronounced now that he's using an actual mouth to speak, and Bilbo slowly reaches out to take it from him. Conner gives another giggle and runs to Cricket, jumping into her lap as she sits down in front of Bilbo.

"Yea, Thranduil doesn't like it when Conner keeps little dragony things like that, but I think it's good practice for him to shift them on and off." She says as Conner snuggles into her, still peeking at Bilbo as she ruffles his hair lovingly. "Plus, I think he's pretty cute with his little horns."

"I must say, he rather reminds me of a fauntling in this form, if a bit bigger."Bilbo says, looking and the mostly crumbled cookie in his hand."Sweet, full of endless energy, mischivious...even his ears are slightly pointed."

"He's just missing his hairy feet, because he definitely has your appetite." Cricket jokes, getting more comfortable in her chair."So, any good news on your end of things?"

Bilbo finishes off the bread before answering."Partially, yes. Like I sais before, the palace is huge, and took the better part of the last few days to search, barely giving me time to slip back in with Thorin at dinner."

"And? Did you find anything?"

"There is one other way out of the palace, yes."

"That's great news, where is it?"

"The wine cellar. There's some kind of lever the elves use to release empty wine barrels out of the palace and into the river that runs underneath. Each barrel is big enough to hold a member of the company."

"And why would you consider that partially good news?"

"Well, for one, there is a table for guards in the cellar. Two, we would need to figure out a way to actually get everyone down into the cellar, past said guards. And three, even if we can figure out a way to get them past, they may not want to go along with it. They may just decide to bust their way out."

She nods, seeing his point."That's true. So what do we do?"

"Don't tell em."

They both look at Conner curiously."What now?" Bilbo asks as he sits up straight in her lap.

"Don't tell em, silly, it can be a surpise!" He says, grinning up at Cricket. She finally gets his meaning and smiles back, looking over at Bilbo.

"I think what he's trying to say is don't tell them, not until you actually get them down into the cellar. That way, they can't object to it until it's too late. Right Conner?"

"Yep!"

"So, we tell them there;s a plan, but not what the plan is?"

"Exactly. I would say that the only person you tell the truth to would need to be Thorin, if you feel such a need."

Bilbo nods in agreement this time."Ok, but how do we get them into the cellar then? I can't exactly turn everyone else invisible, you know, though I can sneak a copy of the cell keys."

She thinks for a moment, absent-mindedly running her fingers through Conners hair, lulling him to sleep. That would definitely be the hardest part, as the guards weren't just going to let them all walk out, and the dwarves weren't exactly known for their stealth, except for maybe Nori. She sighs, glancing out the window at the star-filled sky, when it hits her, and she jerks her head back forward."I've got it!"

"Got what?" Bilbo asks, confused.

"The perfect time to get them out! In two days time, there is going to be a huge feat, called the Feast of Starlight. Legolas says everyone will be there, except for one of two spare guards, and there will be lots of drinking involved. If we can sneak them out then, hardly anyone should be sober enough to notice until it's too late."

Bilbo taps his chin thoughtfully."That..could work, actually. I could sneak a sleeping potion from the healers room, and slip it into the drink of the few guards leftover. Then all there would be left to do is get them into the barrels, and out of here. What about you though?"

"What do you mean?"

How will you and Conner get down to the cellar? I assume Thranduil will want the two of you there, as well as your friend the prince."

"I'll just sneak out sometime while they aren't looking, or say Conner doesn't feel good and leave to take him to bed."

"So...you are actually leaving with us then?"

Why wouldn't I?"

Bilbo figits nervously in his seat."Well, you have seemed to make very good friends with the prince, and can learn so much about what you can do here. Look at what the two of you have learned already, Conner can change into a child, for Yavanas sake! And Bofur said..."

She interrupts him, freezing in place at the sound of Bofurs name, voice going hard."Bofur said what, exactly?" Bilbo hears the change in her tone and looks up, a bit confused and surprised, before continuing.

"Um, well, Bofur said you probably wouldn't be coming with us, when we left. Said you had decided to stay here."

"Did he know? Well, I think I know what I'm going to do a bit more than Bofur does." She says, trying to stay calm."You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Besides, he's been stuck in a cell the entire time, so how would he know?"

Conner twitches a bit in her lap, and she relaxes, her face going sad."As for Legolas and my lessons...while he is my friend, all of you were my friends first, and I made a promise to help you the best I can. If I don't find a way home once we finish the quest, then I'll come back, and keep learning. And I'll leave Legolas a note, explaining my reasons for leaving, and apologizing to him for doing it the way I am. He knows as well as I do it's probably the only way the company will get to leave anyway."

"I'm guessing the talks with Thranduil aren't going that well then?" Bilbo asks, saving her strange reaction to Bofur in the back of his mind for later.

"Not when it has to do with the company, no. He is almost as bad as Thorin."

"Must be a king thing." He jokes, getting a sad smile from her."All right, so we have a plan, and a date to put it into effect. Why don't I fill a barrel with the companies weapons and gear, that way we will have it when we leave?"

"Good idea. If you can, go ahead and take my bag with you, and put it in when you leave, that way I have one less thing to worry about when the time comes."

He nods once more, knowing that if he is already taking her bag, she is serious about leaving with them. It was her one lifeline to her home, and rarely left her side. The one time the princes had hidden it from her as a joke, she had gotten so upset, thinking that she had left it behind somewhere, they had immediately given it back to her and apologized furiously, getting a thorough beating from Dwalin when he saw how upset they had made her.

"By the way..."She suddenly says sly, changing the topic, sparkling curiosity in her eyes."How did your little talk with Thorin go?" When Biblos face goes red and he looks away, she grins triumphantly."I knew it, something happened! Tell me!"

"Well, I um...it was a bit cold, that night you told me to talk to him, you see, and he ended up wrapping me in his coat to keep me warm. I remember falling asleep, then waking up to being, well, held by him. When he tried to apologize, I gathered up my courage and kissed him."

"Bilbo, you dog, go you!" she squealed quietly as to not alarm anyone who might walk by her door."What happened next?"

"After he got over his shock, we ended up having a good, long, uncomfortable talk about our feelings. It turns out that since he didn't know a thing about Hobbit courting rituals, he was too afraid to try anything, lest he send me the wrong signal. Not only that, but didn't know if I even liked males that way or not. After smacking him upside the head, I told him that was the same reason I hadn't tried anything with him...that and the whole he's a king situation. Then we kissed again. Now...we're complicated."

"Hey, that's better than nothing, and now you know how each other feel! I'm proud of you, Master Baggins." She then frowns. "Speaking of which, isn't it too late to get into his cell now?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I didn't think of that until after I came in the room."

"Well then, why don't you sleep in here tonight, then head back in the morning? I'd really rather you not sleep in a dark corner somewhere, and risk being caught."

"That would be much appreciated, thank you."

"No problem at all." She says, standing up and gently placing the sleeping Conner on one side of the bed, where he begins to suck his thumb, and grabs a blanket for Bilbo."Both of the chairs and the couch would be a good bed for the night, and they face away from the door, so you have no chance of being seen if someone walks in unannounced."

"That's a relief, I could definitely use a good nights sleep."

She smiles him, starting to feel tired herself."Well, if I get up before you, I'll make sure to wake you up."

"Thank you again." He says gratefully, taking the blanket from her and moving to the couch, where he proceeds to curl up under said blanket for sleep. She moves to her own bed and climbs in, blowing out the candle on the nightstand next to it and turns over, cuddling Conner close to her. She passes out not 5 minutes later to the soft sound of Conner and Bilbo's snoring.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next two days seem to fly by, starting from the moment Bilbo leaves in the morning with her bag, to start preparing for their escape.

Instead of their usual morning spar that day, Legolas takes Conner and Cricket to be fitted for special feast day outfits, a dress for her, and a fancy tunic for him. When she tried to argue that she already had a dress, Legolas shrugged, saying that it was his fathers order that she be fitted for one. She didn't argue further, knowing it would get her nowhere if Thranduil wanted it to happen, and answered various questions the elf asked while taking her measurements, about colors, and how extravagant of jewelry she preferred(not very). Conner was a bit harder to keep still, and they only managed it after promising him a special treat when they were done.

She is actually very proud of him for keeping up his human form this long, considering it to be a good sign for when they finally leave.

It seems that everyone was preparing for the feast, as there were a constant stream of elves coming in and out of the kitchens, preparing meals, bringing up wines from the cellar, decorating the audience hall and so on. Cricket could only watch as everyone ran around, getting their chores done, with no chance herself to help out. Even Legolas stayed busy, so they ended up staying in her room or in the courtyard, practicing what little they had learned so far from Legolas and Thranduil, as well as letting Conner practice his flying.

So far, Conner could do small glamours(which Cricket was picking up from him), breathe ice and fire,(or steam, if he decides to use both lungs at once), and apparently talk to animals. The last part she was pretty sure could come in handy, as long as they weren't like the seagulls from Finding Nemo, constantly going'Mine'. Conner told her that squirrels were actually very smart and devious, so she had high hopes for the others.

Their powers when they touched with the bond were a bit different than his individual ones, so far. Obviously, they could fight better and more gracefully, though that was starting to bleed through when he wasn't on her as a tattoo, and she wanted to practice again with Dwalin to see if she could fight just as well with him close by, as long as they touch on the bond.

A more interesting development was that when they touched on the bond, with or without being physically connected, she found she could take on more dragon-like aspects if she concentrated hard enough. For example, at one point she found that her skin had taken on a certain thickness, much like dragonscales, and she couldn't pierce it, not with a fork, a knife, or even one of the daggers that Galadriel had given her, the Queens Thorns. Not only that, but at one point when sparring, she could have sworn that her hands had become claw-like, but when she stopped to look they were back to normal.

Legolas mentioned at one point that when touching on the bond, he may be able to heal her to some degree, or stop bleeding long enough to get to a healer, but they hadn't had a chance to test that particular theory yet, and weren't looking forward to it.

Other than that, they really hadn't had enough time to discover what else they could do, and wouldn't be likely to any time soon with them leaving, unless it was on accident.

Besides training, the only other thing they got to do while the preparations were going on was sit outside and watch. Cricket asked if she could help several times, but every time was told that as a guest, they couldn't possible think of having her help, and that she should just sit back and relax, so that she might better enjoy the feast tomorrow.

The only other thing of consequence that happened was that, while walking aimlessly around the palace with Conner, she happened to see Thorin being taken back to the throne room, and angry scowl on his face. It lightened slighty when he saw Cricket, and he gave her a brief nod, before the doors were closed and the guards stood in front of them to bar entry. Instead of trying to get in, she waited on a bench close by until Thorin was released and taken back to his cell. He was red in the face when she saw him, as if he had been yelling again, and she shook her head in sympathy, knowing she was making the right decision on helping them escape tomorrow during the feast.

That night she ate little, her stomach in knots for what was going to happen tomorrow, and she went to bed early, that way she could be well rested.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, as soon as she woke up, one of the ladies maids came in with a light breakfast, saying that she was going to be helping Cricket get ready for the feast, which, much to her surprise, was actually going to be starting in the afternoon instead of the evening, so that they could already be celebrating once the stars came out. Conner changed into his human form and ate breakfast along with her, but was whisked away by Legolas the same time the lady's maid pulled her into the bathing room. Apparantly Legolas was going to help Conner get ready, while the lady's maid prepped Cricket.

There was much protesting as Cricket was pushed into the bath, trying to convince the elf she could bathe herself, but the elf woman simply laughed and said that it was her job, and that the king had requested she get the royal treatment. Cricket grumbles to herself about being glad she isn't royalty if they aren't allowed to bathe themselves, while the elf washes her hair, smoothing her skin over with scented oil once they are out, then putting her in a robe and bringing her back to her room, where the tailor is waiting with her dress.

Cricket has to admit that it is quite lovely, even though she needs help getting into it, so not to accidently rip it. The dress is a pale rose-pink, with silvery grey strands running through it, stitched into intricate designs around the bottom of the dress, as well as around the sleeves, both which are fluttery and fairy like, and it has an empire waist, which is her favorite kind. It comes with a pair of silvery flat shoes as well, but when she has a chance she slips them off and pulls on her boots from Rivendale, in case she needs to run during her escape, and also because she refuses to leave them behind when she leaves.

Once she has been dressed, the ladies maid pulls her to a chair with a low back and sits her down, and another elf begins working on her hair, moving around the eagle feather as she does, working something in her hair, then taking a wand they had somehow heated and using it to put curls throughout it, fastening one section with a silver brooch in the back. They then dust her face with a shimmering powder, put a type of gloss on her lips, and a silver necklace with something blue on the end of it.

"It's a one of your dragons scales." Explains the lady's maid as Cricket peers at it."Prince Legolas picked it up when the young dragon fell out of the tree, trying to chase the squirrels, and asked one of the smiths to fashion it into a necklace for you."

"That, was very sweet of him." Cricket said as the ladies maids finally finished with her, tutting at her choice in footwear before handing her a mirror. She looked in it and almost didn't recognize herself, between the elves care, the toning sparring nearly every day had done to her, and the effects of being bonded with Conner. She looked a bit like a fairy princess, and was beginning to feel worse about what she was planning on doing. She was very glad her stuff was already in the barrel, so that she couldn't change her mind.

The lady's maid helps her up, and says that it's time for the festival to start, as the work done to her has taken all morning. There is a knock on the door, and the elf tells whoever it is that it's fine to enter. Conner runs in as soon as the door is opened, his curls only tamed a bit, wearing a pale blue silk tunic and dark grey leggings. He runs around the maid and jumps into her arms, laughing."Mama Cwicket, I had a baf, and they put something in my hair, and Legolas said we are going to eat lots of yummy foods!"

"Haha, he did, did he? Well, you look very handsome."

"Tank you, you look pwetty and sparkly."

She laughs at the excited toddler/dragon, and looks up to see Legolas leaning in the doorway, an amused look on his face, wearing a blue grey silver tunic the same design as Conner, as well as a silver circlet in his hair, showing his status as a prince."He's right, though I would say lovely, charming, a vision..."

"Laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little, but it's also true."

"Well, thank the ladies maids and the tailor, they're the ones that made me look like some fairy princess. I feel very overdressed. Conner and you look very handsome though."

He smirks at her."Thank you. Shall I escort you to the feast?"

"If you must." She puts down Conner and takes his hand, then takes the arm Legolas offers her, and start heading to the feast. They are about halfway there when she leans over to whisper to him."By the way...thank you for the necklace. I really do like having one of his scales like this, it's almost like a baby tooth, or a lock of hair from his first hair cut."

"Your welcome, I thought you might like it. It's always nice to have a memento of someone that means so much to you." Her face falls a little as she thinks of the braid Bofur put in her hair to keep the eagle feather in, and once again has doubts on whether she should go, or just help them escape. But since Bilbo had her stuff, and the note to Legolas was already on her bedside table, she was sticking to her guns.

When they enter the audience hall, she stares in wonder at the shining transformation. Silver decorations everywhere, sparkling candles on the tables, surrounding heaps of delicious looking food, elves dressed in fine clothes everywhere, some merely wearing silver jewelry to mark the occasion. Thranduil is sitting high up top, at the head of the table, and gestures for them to come forward.

"Lady Cricket, you look a vision."He says, inclining his head to her, and she curtesies the best she can in her dress.

"Thank you your highness, it was kind of you to have them make this clothing this fine for Conner and I."

"It was my pleasure, nothing but the finest for my honored guests. In fact, I would be honored if you would sit at the table next to me." He indicates two chairs to his left, one with a cushion to lift up Conner on it, and they sit down, Legolas walking around to sit at his right hand side. Thranduil then stands, lifting his glass to the rest of the elves in the hall."Eat, drink, and be merry, in this, the celebration of the gleaming silver orbs that join the majestic moon in the night sky. Let the feast of Starlight commence!"

There is a great cheer that echoes in the hall, and the feast begins. Several different foods pass by, each on more tantalizing than the last, and she tries her best to taste a bit of everything, going as light on the wine as she can, as to not be drunk once it is time to escape. Thranduil and Legolas both drink their fill, not noticing that she is pretending to drink the wine, and sipping on a glass of water she keeps having filled. Conner eats and drinks his fill, not having to worry about getting drunk as he is too young for wine, and the feast seems to drag on, for several hours, while many different types of entertainment perform for the celebrating masses. Cricket finds herself tapping her foot anxiously without knowing it, wondering if this is going to last forever.

About 4 hours in, once everyone has started to feel the effects of the wine, she feels a piece of paper pressed into her hand. When she looks quickly at it, it says"Pretend to drop something". She furrows her brow and, looking quickly over at the king, occupied with the music playing, she knocks over her fork, and bends down to the floor.

"I am going down to release them now." Bilbos voice whispers."Can you be in the cellar in ten minutes?"

"Yes, I can try." She says, glancing up to make sure no one has noticed her."But Bilbo, if I don't make it there ten minutes after everyone is down there...leave without me."

"We can't do that!"

"You can, and you will. You lot getting out of here is more important than making sure I make it out as well. I will make it back to you, I promise."

She hears nervous gulping."Alright. But please, try to be there."

"I will. Now go."

She leans back up, taking a long drink of water, and prepares to make an excuse to leave. However, after 5 minutes, when she is about to stand up...

"Lady Cricket?" She looks up guiltily at Thranduil, who is looking at her passively.

"Um, yes?"

"I was wondering if I might have a word with you about something important."

"Ok..but can it wait til later, I'm feeling a bit under the weather."

"Actually, I would prefer to do it now, if you don't mind." He makes it a command, and not a request, and she knows there is no chance of saying no to him.

"Alright. What do you need to talk about?"

He looks at her, smiling like he has something up his sleeve, and takes a sip of wine before speaking."You have enjoyed my hospitality, have you not?"

"Well, yes, everyone has been very kind to me."

"And you seem to have made good friends with my son, correct?"

"Yes, I would consider Legolas a friend. He's been very helpful to Conner and I in learning what we can do, and Conner seems to like him a lot." She wonders where this is going, starting to get suspicious.

"That's very good." He says, smiling wider at her."I was hoping you might say that. Our house has alway had a reputation for the best of training, back in the days of the dragons and the other races in their truce. We have always been good allies with the Dragonknights, as well as the ruling monarchs."

"That's..good? I guess? I'm very grateful for all of your help."

"I know you are. In fact, I was wondering if you might feel grateful enough to become an ally with us officially, now that you are learning your role in the world here."

She pauses, and Legolas looks over, frowning, wondering what his father is up to."I suppose so, I don't see anything wrong with it."

"That's good, I'm glad you agree. In fact, I would like to offer you the chance to make us even more tight allies than in the older days, with a special offer of friendship, and hopefully more."

"What do you mean?" She asks, nervous now, wanting to get away to join the company, not knowing how much time has passed.

He leans in close, a calculating look on his face."I would offer you the chance to become an official member of my house...by joining my son's hand in marriage."

She freezes in place, face going pale. He can't possible be serious, can he?"But sire...I'm no elf. And I don't know if Legolas feels that way about me. Shouldn't he be choosing who he marries?"

Thranduil dismisses her inquiries with a wave of hs hand."Is doesn't matter that you aren't an elf, you are a dragons bondmate, and a Dragonknight at that, practically the same peerage as him anyway. Your marriage into the family would only bring respect and power to our name, and yours. And I believe he does think of you that way, I have watched the two of you together since yo have awoken, and I do not think he would be adverse to such a union. And among our people , arranged marriages happen all the time, it is nothing unusual for a father to make a contract for his child."

She gulps, trying to remember how to breathe"That...that is a very gracious offer, your highness. Can I have some time to think about it? I wouldn't want to make a hasty decision, with an offer this magnanimous." She breaks out the big words, hoping to appeal to him.

"Of course, I would have it no other way. Take your time."

She nods, and stands up."I..think Conner and I will take a walk, clear my head. If I might be excused?"

Thranduil nods, and she hastily escapes the table, Legolas staring after her, worried. He gets up, meaning to follow her, and Thranduil smiles in what he thinks is a victory.

Cricket and Conner make it about halfway when Legolas catches up with them, but is stopped from speaking to her by a guard running up."Prince Legolas, the dwarves, they've escaped!" Cricket pales, hoping they can still get away, and Legolas looks at the guard furiously.

"How did they escape, they were in individual cells! The front door is always guarded!"

The wine cellar, my lord. Somehow they escaped their cells, and drugged the guards not at the festival. They are getting close to the water gate now, in the empty wine barrels."

Legolas swears, and runs towards the back gate."Come on then, we have to stop them before they get away." He turns to Cricket with pity in his eyes."I'm sorry about this." He then runs off, three guards on his heels.

Cricket, refusing to give up, follows after them, holding on to Conner as she runs."Conner, why don't you change into your tattoo form? It will be easier to get around that way. and please, try to keep your clothes time, so you won't be naked next time you change."

"Allright." He says, swirling into blue light and reappearing as a tattoo.*Are they going to make it?*

"I hope so."She says as they get closer to the lake exit."And if not, we will try our best to help."

When they get there, all the barrels are backed up at the river gate, blocked by bar doors, and the company is swearing and trying to push them open. Legolas has a hard look on his face, and is about to tell the guards to move in and recapture them. She looks at the company in horror, knowing they have to be able to leave.

"Legolas please, let them go!" He looks over at her, face both stern and sad.

"I can't, they must wait until father has made a verdict. They have only worsened their situation by trying to escape."

"Your father gave them no other choice! He has already met with all of them, some of them multiple times, and he wasn't going to make a decision unless they agreed to what he wanted!"

"That is his right, these are his woods!"

"And that rule is stupid, if the people going through have no idea about the rule, and you know it! Please, let us go!"

His face actually turns completely sad when she says that, and the company looks over to the scene happening at the doors, eyes wide at the outfit she is wearing as she pleads with the elf prince."You mean, you still plan on going with them? You don't want to stay here, with me, and learn more about your powers?"

"I do, but I made a promise to them, can't you see that? What kind of person would I be if I broke that promise? I'll tell you, not the kind of person I would want to be friends with. Please Legolas, I promise I will come back if I don't find a way home, but I have to help them first." She grabs his arm, staring into his eyes, silently begging him. After a couple of seconds he gives in, nodding slowly.

"Alright. Father will be furious, but you're right, he wouldn't let them go. Hard feelings run too deep with him...sometimes with me as well, but I will look past them for you."

She smiles and hugs him tightly, kissing his cheek."Thank you so much my friend, I will never forget this. Niether of us will."

Legolas blushes at the kiss as they let go of one another, and some of the dwarves scowl fiercely at the display of affection. As he reaches to grab the lever, a black arrow penetrates the chest of one of the elves, and he falls to the water. They all look up in horror as a regiment of orcs appear out of nowhere, having been waiting for the dwarves to finally leave the mountain. Legolas grabs the bow off his back and shoots one in the chest before looking over to Cricket."Hurry and get to them, I'm going to release the gates!" As he shoots another whose arrow was pointed at the company, he looks over at her with a pained look."Please be careful, and remember your training. I will try to get as many as I can while you escape. Now go!"

"Thank you Legolas."She whispers, before turning around and running towards the barrels as he releases the gates, allowing them to pass. She focuses on the bond, making herself more agile as she jumps from rock to rock to meet up with them, and takes a final leap as they make it to the rapids, glad she decided to pull her boots on after all."Scoot over Nori!" she yells, as he is the closest she can get to, and just makes it into the barrel with him as an orc tries to grab her.

"About time!" Nori yells as Dwalin smacks an orc with a log, and Legolas shoots another one, keeping partially up with them as he dispatches the orcs one by one."We thought you were having too much fun socializing with those pointy eared bastards!"

"Not at all, just waiting for the right time to leave!" She yells back over the sound of the rushing water.

"Well, you look like one right now, you know that? It's actually very flattering." He says, and she feels a hand move down in the barrel.

"Touch my ass and you lose your hand."She warns him."We have more important things going on than you copping a feel." She feels a splash to her right, and sees Bomber back in the water, having just bounced on shore and taken out several orcs at once.

"Yea, you're right, that can wait til later."

"You're impossible, you know that?"

"No, I'm Nori. Did those tree shaggers mess with your head, make you forget stuff? Cuz I have several ideas on how to make you remember me."  
She rolls her eyes, and they finally lose the orcs as they race down the rapids. They last thing she sees as she turns around to look back is Legolas standing atop a cliff, watching them leave, and she feels Conners sadness through the bond. However, she can't tell if the single tear that runs down her cheek is his, or hers.

_Whoot for escape, now we can get back to the story! also, not only do I have a picture of what I imagine Conner to look like up art/conner-476790589_

_Annnnd I have the deleted scenes section up now, compete with Bofur extended scene, so check it out under my profile!_

_ Thanks for keeping up with me for this long, I shan't stop now!_


	19. Dwalin Hates Barrels

The next morning, after finally losing sight of the pursuing orcs, having to hang on to Nori and the barrel for the more hardcore of the rapids(and trying to stop his wandering hands, finally giving in when he settles on her hips, saying it was the best place to hold on to keep her steady), the company finally manages to slow down and touch the shore.

One by one the company crawls out of their barrels, grateful to be on dry, still land. Cricket drags herself to higher ground and flips over to sprawl out on her back, breathing heavily and soaked to the bone, her dress clinging to her body, relishing the feeling of the sun on her chilled skin.

"Bloody hell hobbit, that was the worst plan ever!" Dwalin yells once he has his bearings back, wringing out his beard."I never want to see the inside of a barrel as long as I live, not unless I've just finished off whatever was inside!" Bilbo just looks at him, as tired and wet as everyone else, with a look that can only be described as a bitch face.

Bilbo had certainly became quite sassy on this quest, not even having to speak to convey it.

"Quiet Dwalin." Thorin says as he comes shakily to his feet."We're out, and that's what matters. Under the circumstances it was the best possible plan they could have come up with, and it worked exactly how we needed to." He shoots Bilbo a quick look, getting a grateful one in return for coming to his defense, only magnified by the fact that poor Bilbo looks like a drowned puppy.

"Considering neither Cricket or I can swim, I'd say it was a lot more dangerous for us than it was you anyway." Bilbo says quietly, getting shocked looks from the members of the company closest to them. Dwalin looks incredulously at her, his gruff face surprised.

"You can't swim? Why in the Makers name would you make a plan that was that dangerous to you?"

"Because, like Thorin said, it was the best possible plan under the circumstances. There was always going to be a risk, and both Bilbo and I accepted that."

"It really doesn't matter how good a plan it was, or how dangerous it was for them, honestly." Balin says, coming up from behind Thorin as Conner rematerializes in her lap, still in dragon form."We wouldn't have been able to get away at all if Miss Cricket hadn't somehow convinced the elf lad to release the gates."

"That's true..."Thorin says, turning slowly to face her. Cricket sits up a bit, not quite liking the look on his face."How exactly did you manage that?"

"I..appealed to his sense of what was right."

Bombur snorts."I suppose that's why you gave the tree shagger a kiss then?"

"You did seem very..friendly, with him." Balin says, while Thorin frowns at her. Looking around, she sees that the rest of the company are looking at her curiously, though a couple of the older dwarves had stern looks on their faces. Kili is the only one who doesn't seem to be judging her, but is just as curious as everyone else. She starts to feel guilty again for sleeping in comfort while the rest of them were stuck in dark cells, and is just about ready to apologize, to ease some of the tension.

However, before she can, her gaze falls on Bofur. Bofur, whose gaze is guilty and dark. Bofur, who said such hurtful things to her when she was making sure everyone was ok. Bofur, who apparently told Bilbo she wasn't going with them any further. As she catches his gaze, just for a second, her guilt turns to a slow anger as he quickly lowers his eyes, and she clenches her fist tightly, no one noticing her shaking very slightly.

No one but Nori, and when he notices the direction she was looking when her entire tone changed, he decides he needs to have a much-needed talk with Bofur about what happened in the dungeon between the two of them, as well as what happened when they were in the death sleep. It would happen as soon as he could get a chance to be alone with him, and Bofur would talk.

Nori was very good at convincing people to talk.

Conner can feel her anger through the bond, and looks up worriedly at her as she comes to her feet, water still dripping from the dress as she closes her eyes for a brief moment, focusing.

"All of you listen, and listen good, because I'm only saying this once. I don't have the same aversion to being civil with the elves as you do. Yes, I was friendly with that elf. His name is Legolas, by the way. And Legolas, when I wasn't talking to Thranduil trying to get all of you out, was a friend to both me and Conner during our stay. Would spar with me every morning, and taught us to hone and expand out bond. Kept us company when I was upset about home, and not being able to help all of you, and..other, personal things. Because of him, Conner can not only change into yet another form(Thranduil actually but who was keeping up), but both of us know a lot more about we can do as bondmates. And when I asked him to please open the gates so we could leave, not only did he do it for me, but he helped defend out asses on the way down the rapids when the orcs were attacking us. so yea, I gave him a kiss on the cheek, because he was a damn good friend to me, to Conner, and he let go of the stupid distaste you guys seem to have for one another, defying his father in the process, so he could do the right thing!" She stops, taking a deep breath, feeling a tiny bit better to have gotten that off her chest.

The company gapes at her as she rants, all except for Bilbo and Kili who give her proud looks, having the good sense to look ashamed when she puts them in their place. Thorin, though, still seems to have more questions."So why then did Thranduil have you dressed up as a royal? And tell me he had plans for you?" he asks her this almost accusingly, and she gives him a long look.

Bofur however frowns deeply as Thorin says this, starting to suspect he had been played, wondering if he had made a bigger mistake than he thought.

"Thranduil, as much as he helped me, and was kind to me, could be a conniving ass, as you most likely know very well. He dressed me like this to try to butter me up."

"Butter you up for what, lass?" Balin asks softly before Thorin can interrupt.

"He was trying to convince me to stay there in the palace with him, to continue my bondmate learning..."She pauses, knowing what was coming."And he asked me to marry his son, Legolas."

The reaction was exactly as she thought it would be. Lots of yelling, dropped jaws, and several death threats from the members of the company she was closest to. To the elves, not her, obviously. Bofur in particular goes pale, a peculiar look on his face as he digests her words, one of the few not voicing his opinion. Dwalin threatens to shave the elf king completely and tattoo lewd things on his scalp and lower areas.

"Why would he want you to marry his son? If anything, Thranduil is very much about pure blood lines, and marrying within your peerage."Thorin asks once everyone has calmed down enough for him to be heard.

Tha's what I wondered about too. He said he wanted a strong alliance with me, and that my title I received as Conners bondmate put me pretty much at the same peerage as Legolas anyway. That, and something about the marriage bringing respect and power to both of us. I'm really confused why he thinks I would care about power. All it does is push more responsibility on your shoulders."

"That does sound like him, anything to look better and more connected than others."Thorin says darkly. He then gives her a queer look for him."But you're here..did you not actually accept his offer?"

"Of course not! One, I've only known him for about a week. Two, I plan on marrying for love, not for power, or respect, or a fancy title. Three, I made a promise to help you til the end of this quest, or until I find a way home, and I will. And four.." She pauses, a small smile touching her face."No one asked my adopted family for permission to court me." She says softly, getting relieved looks from everyone who had threatened to beat up anyone not worthy of courting her.

Thorin cocks his head to the side, curiously studying her."Every time I think I have you figured out, you do something to surprise me yet again." He comes forward and claps a hand on her shoulder."Gandalf was very right about you, and we're lucky to have someone so loyal with us." He says to her, inclining his head to her and Conner, then looks to the rest of the company."We'll rest for a short time then move on. Dori and Gloin, get our gear out of the extra barrel. Our stay with the elf king cut our time til Durins day, and we need to move as soon as possible."

Cricket breathes a sigh of relief as Thorin moves away, glad the questioning is over. As she falls back to the ground, Conner crawling into her lap, she feels someone sitting down beside her, and looks over to see Kili next to her, her backpack in his hands."I thought you might like this back." He says grinning tiredly at her."It's a little damp, but otherwise ok."

"Thanks Kili." She says as she takes it from him, placing it on the ground beside her."Lucky for me I put all the things that could ruin in water in a waterproof bag. I'll have to wait a bit to change out of this dress though, all my other clothes are damp as well, plus there is nowhere good to change."

"You looked really nice in it before you got soaked."

"Thanks. You should have seen Conner all dressed up."

"Conner dressed up?" He looks at the dragon a bit confused."Did they make you dragon sized clothes?"

*No, silly Kili, for my other form!* Conner says, sticking his tongue out at the confused prince.

"Other form, did I miss something? I know you said in your rant that he had learned a new one, but I didn't think it would be one that could wear clothes!" Fili sits down next to Kili, catching the end of the conversation.

"Didn't think who could wear clothes? Is someone running around naked again?"

"Conner, he has a new form that can apparently wear them!"

Cricket grins at the baby dragon."Want to show them?"

*Oh, yes please! I've been wanting to show Kili what I can do!*

"All right, but do you think you can try it with clothes this time? We don't have any extra with us that aren't soaked, and you kinda have to wear them in public."

*Awww, ok, I'll try.*

"Thank you." Cricket looks over to the young princes."Watch closely, he's very proud of himself for being able to do this. And just in case...be prepared to catch a naked toddler."

They gives her even more confused looks at the same time that Cricket feels Conner touching on the bond, drawing energy from it, and as ther magic swirls around him Balin, Dwalin, Nori, Ori and Bifur get closer, wondering what is about to happen. Bofur watches from a distance, curious as well but not yet ready to face her.

As the magic begins to settle into his toddler form, Cricket sighs in relief at the fact that Conner has managed to shift with pants on, if only pants. The others look on in shock at the sight of the curly-haired child standing there, grinning at them happily from where Conner had been.

"Hiya." Conner says waving, then looks up at her."I gots pants on Mama Cwicket."

"I see that, good job."She says, ruffling his hair as he smiles at the praise.

"Tank you."

"Wait, so this is Conner?" Fili asks as Conner walks over and pokes Kili before giggling and running behind Cricket."When did he learn this little trick?"

"The second day I was awake. They insisted it be one of the first things he learned, that way he can hide among other people better. He seems to like it a lot, though every once in a while.."She stops as Conner pops up horns, his favorite add-on, causing the others to start."Every once in a while, he likes to do that."

"That's amazing!" Fili exclaims as Conner makes the horns disappear, peering around at everyone from behind her back."What else have you learned?"

"Well, Conner can breathe fire and ice, or steam if he uses both sets of lungs. He knows how to do small glamours, so he can hide a mark he has under his eye, much like the one on my neck."

"You said the tree-sh...elf, was sparring with you every morning."Dwalin says, barely managing to catch himself as she turns to face him, eyes narrowed a bit."Have you improved any?"

"Yes, actually, and the first chance we get I want a sparring session with you."She says grinning at him."I have a couple of new tricks to show off to you."

"Can't wait." He says, grinning and slapping her on the back."Might be nice to actually have a challenge for a change."

"Lass, you long can he keep up this form?" Balin asks, staring thoughtfully at Conner.

"I'm really not sure to tell the truth. Supposedly, as long as he is touching on the bond, it should last as long as he wants it to. The actual change takes more energy than keeping it up I've noticed, and as long as we both stay decently fed we should be good."

"Mama Cwicket?" Conner asks, tugging on her arm."I'm bored. Can I go pway?"

"I don't know, we aren't staying here that long."

"Oh, we'll play with him!" Kili says excitedly, nudging Fili, who nods in agreement."Please can we?"

"We won't go far, and we'll keep a close eye on him."

"Yea, pwease?"

She looks at the pleading faces and sighs, giving in."Fine. But you two keep a close eye on him, and remember that he's very fast when he wants to be."

"We will."

Conner gives her arm a tight hug and takes off, Kili and Fili hot on his heels. Watching them for a moment, she looks to her backpack and unzips it, checking to see how much damage the water has done. Like she thought, her clothes inside were a bit damp and would need to be dried. Thankfully the bag she had put everything in that the water could ruin did its job and protected the items inside, and she was pretty sure the elf-made clothes would dry quickly once given a chance. However, until they found a place with tiny bit of privacy, she was stuck in her wet dress.

She hears Fili yelling in the background for Conner to come back with his boot, and Kili and Conner giggling as they are chased by him. Feeling another presence next to her, she looks to see Bifur crouching next to her.

~Are you ok?~ He signs to her, concerned look on his face.

~Yea, just a little wet and cold. Nothing a change of dry clothes won't fix.~

~That's not what I meant.~

She looks at him, a bit confused.~What do you mean then?~

~I mean, you look sad. Sad, and kind of angry, like someone you trusted let you down, or you were lied to and just found out about it. Did something happen while you were with the elves? Or while you were asleep?~

~Nothing I want or need to talk about right now. It would only create more problems than it would fix at the moment.~

~It wouldn't have anything to do with my cousin looking so dejected and guilty looking, would it? Because if so...~

~Please Bifur, let it go for now. I mean it when I said I can't talk about it right now. I will probably tell you eventually, but this is the wrong time, I promise you.~

He looks at her, worry etched on his face, and nods slowly.

~If you say so. I won't push the matter. But just know you can talk to me any time, about anything. I'm here for you whenever you decide you need to talk. It's not healthy to keeps emotions like the ones showing in your eyes bottled up, they will eat away at you like a slow poison.~

~I know.~ She says, looking Bifur in the eye, giving him a sad smile.~Believe me, I will need to talk about it soon, and as soon as I feel it's the right time you'll be the first person I talk to, I promise. Maybe in the meantime you should check on Bofur, since he seems to be upset about...something.~

"I'll do that. But I think for your sake I'll steer clear of why he looks guilty, in case I feel the need to injure him.~

~Thank you.~She says gratefully, giving him a one-armed hug.~When did you get to be so wise?~

~Oh, always. It's just the axe throws everyone off, makes them underestimate me, that's all. Lulls people into thinking I'm a bit slow.~

~Stupid people.~ She says, laughing. Suddenly she notices a dark shadow on the ground, indicating someone much taller behind her, and slowly turns her head to look around Bifur. Standing there is a man in a long leather jacket, half pulled back dark brown hair, and most importantly, a bow drawn, pointed at the company.

Dwalin notices him as well and grabs a large piece of wood, standing in front of the bow with a determined look on his face. As Dwalin moves forward, the man lets the arrow loose, hitting the wood and splitting it in half. He then nocks it quickly again and hits a rock out of Kili's hand.  
"Do it again, and you're dead." He says. As the rest of the company slowly comes to their feet, making no sudden moves, Cricket looks around frantically for Conner.

She finally sees him off to the side, hidden behind Kili and Fili, and breathes a sigh of relief at their quick thinking. She then turns her attention to the conversation Balin has started with the man.

"We're simple merchants, traveling from the Blue Mountains, to visit our kin in the Iron Hills." Balin says, a deceptively innocent look on his aged face. The man cocks and eyebrow at him and looks around at the company, most likely trying to decide if they look much like merchants. Bifur stands up and moves in front of Cricket, blocking her from the strangers view.

Cricket takes the chance to glance over at Conner when the man looks away, once again talking to Balin. Conner doesn't look scared, merely curious about what the big deal is, and when he notices Crickets eye on him he grins and jerks out of Kilis hand, running over to her, much to the horror of the young prince.

"Conner, no!" Fili whispers, trying to grab him, but it's too late. As Conner makes it to her, jumping into her arms, she looks up to see the man looking at her, surprised at the sight of the wet girl and toddler among the rowdy looking group of dwarves. As she stares back at him, holding tightly on to Conner, he looks sternly at Balin.

"Why are you with this woman and child? Are you holding them hostage? Because if so, I'll have no choice but to take them into my custody." He asks, renotching his bow and raising it a bit. Balin gives him an affronted look, while the rest of the company begins to look angrily at him, Dwalin actually growling and moving forward.

"How dare you! The lass is a willing member of our company, and you'll take her over my dead body!" The rest of the company murmurs in agreement, starting to move forward as well. Cricket can sense the situation has the potential to get deadly very quickly, because if they do decide to attack the man, he will most certainly take out at least one of them before they can even reach him. Thinking fast she stands up, holding on to Conner and propping him on her hip, and walks over to Dwalin, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Dwalin please, It's just a big misunderstanding, that's all. Let's not get anyone uneedingly hurt."

"I don't care if it's a misunderstanding, he just accused of us kidnapping, and threatened to take you from us!" Dwalin growls, face twisted in anger, hand tightening around the wood still there.

"And I'll talk to him and let him know that he's wrong." she says, trying to calm him down, gripping his shoulder firmly. He looks over at her and grunts, nodding finally, and puts the wood down, still in an offensive stance.

"Fine, but one wrong move, and this stick goes straight up his ass."

"Agreed." She says, and Dwalin steps back, allowing her to walk slowly towards the man, hands still on his raised bow."Please, put the bow down, we're all friends here. What's your name?"She asks him, eyes never leaving his.

He looks suspiciously at her, softening a bit at the sight of Conner in her arms, and lowers the bow slightly."Bard. My name is Bard."

"Very nice to meet you Bard. My name's Cricket, and this little guy is Conner. We would both really appreciate it if you didn't threaten our friends."

"So they are actually your friends? You're traveling with them of your own choice?"

"Yes, no forcing, I promise."

"Kili is my fwiend." Conner pops up, causing Bard to look at him in surprise.

"Is that so little one?" He asks, relaxing enough to smile a tiny bit at the child."And the rest, are they your friends as well?"

"Uh huh, but Kili is my bestest. He plays tag and chase wit me, and lets me wide on his shoulders."

"Sounds like a good friend indeed." Bard says, lowering the bow all they way, and Conner hides his face shyly in Crickets chest."Fine, I believe you, children have a good habit of telling the truth, especially at that age. But that doesn't explain what you are doing here on shore."

She nods over at the company, letting them know the situation has been diffused, and turns back to face him."We were attacked by a random group of orcs(the truth, it a bit stretched), and only barely escaped by jumping in the water. We lost everything but a bit of our gear and one or two bags."

"Aye, and we still have a way to go." Balin says, stepping back in now that the atmosphere was calmer. He looks behind Bard to the ferry he came on."A fine vessel you have there. I don't suppose you would be willing to carry us to town for a small sum?"

"What makes you think I would help you?"

"Those boots have seen better days, and that coat as well. And no doubt you have little ones to feed back home."

"Aye, a boy and two girls."

"And your wife, she must be a beauty."

"Aye...she was." He says, looking sad for a moment, and Cricket feels a pang of sympathy for him, a single father with three children at home.

"I'm sorry lad, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Please." Cricket says, looking pleadingly at him."We need food and supplies, maybe weapons as well. Could you please take us?"

Bard looks at them all of them, landing last on her, and seems to come to a hard decision."Fine, but I'll warn you, no one come in or out of Laketown without the Masters say so, and considering that I know where these barrels came from..."He says, looking at their mode of transportation."And they don't look like they parted from the palace on normal terms, I'm pretty sure the Master would rather let you rot outside, than risk Thranduils wrath. You would have to be snuck in. "

"For which we'll pay double." Balin says, and Bards nods in agreement.

"Thank you!"Cricket says brightly, Conner looking up to smile at him. Bard gives a strained smile back, and looks her in the eye.

"You're welcome, far be it from me to leave a soaked to the bone woman and child on the shore, away from civilization. Tell the rest to be ready as soon as I load the barrels."

"Will do lad." Balin says, hurrying over to Thorin and telling him the deal. Cricket heads over to where she left her backpack and zips it back up, sword belt and sword still inside, holding on to Conner lest he try to wander off again. She is suddenly very glad he remembered to go ahead and glamour the mark on his cheek, and as they wait to board the barge she speaks to him through the bond.

*Remember, not everyone will be as accepting of you as the elves and the company, so while we are around other people you will need to stay in this form, ok?*

*Ok, I will. Are we going to see the elves again? I liked Legolas.*

*I know you did sweetie, he was my friend too. And I don't know if we'll see him again, but I hope we do, someday.*

*Me too. Then maybe he and Kili can be friends too.*

She smiles at his childlike enthusiasm.*Maybe so.*

Once all the barrels are loaded, and the company climbs on the ferry, they set off towards Laketown, the remnants of the destroyed city of Dale. Cricket sits towards the front, hoping to enjoy the view as they travel down the lake, barely noticing Bofur sitting all the way on the other side.

Yea, they definitely needed to have a talk when they got a chance.

About a third of the trip there, Conners sneaks(he thinks) over to sit in Kilis lap, leaving Cricket to stare at the water and get lost in her thoughts. Balin had started gathering up coins from the company to pay Bard, and she was finally starting to feel the effects of sitting around in wet clothes.

Bard, standing behind her, notices her shiver yet again, and takes a moment to shrug off his coat and drape it around her shoulders. She looks up at him a bit surprise by the gesture."Thanks, but you didn't have to do that, I could have managed."

"Yes, but what kind of man would I be if I stood here watching you freeze? Go ahead and use it for now, there's no need for you to get sick."

"Well, when you put it that way.." She says, adjusting it better over her body."How could I say no? It is kinda nice to have some warmth back. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He goes back to steering, both of them silent as they look over the water. A giggle behind her causes both of them to glance back to see Conner playing with the young princes. Conner would start in Kili's lap, and Kili would tickle him until he yelled for Fili to save him. Once he was saved, Conner would stay there until he had caught his breath, grin, then jump back in Kili's lap, starting it all over again. The older dwarves look on in amusement at their play, and even Thorin had the ghost of a smile on his lips. Bilbo was sitting close to Thorin, and she saw them catch each others eye once. she could definitely tell that something had changed between them in that look, and was very glad they finally admitted their feelings to each other.

"He's a very happy boy."

She looks over to see Bard staring at Conner playing."Yes, yes he is. And hyper to boot."

"I can tell. Is he yours?"

"No, but I can pretty much claim him as mine. His parents died and made me his guardian(Close enough to the truth). I've take care of him since he was born(hatched)."

"And you don't mind that they handed you that responsibility?"

"Not at all. I love him, and look forward every day to see what he'll do next."

He finally gives her a true, natural smile that lights up his handsome face."I remember feeling the same way when my children were that age. He's lucky to have someone like you."

"Thanks, but I think I'm the lucky one. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have him, or the rest of the company."

"Why exactly are you with them if you don't mind me asking? I don't mean to pry, it's just that you don't see a young woman such as yourself traveling with a group like this very often, unless it's for protection."

Balin had already prepped her to tell a good story if she was questioned, as they were trying to keep the quest a secret. She was convinced the best stories had a ring to truth to them, and was ready with an answer.

"I don't have any blood family left here, and Kili over there considers me his adopted sister. When the group decided to make the trip to the Iron Hills, he asked if I could come along so I wouldn't be left alone. Lucky for me Conner loves him a lot, and the entire company is kind of protective of us, as you saw earlier."

"Indeed. It definitely wasn't the reaction I expected when I made the accusation. It does make me wonder why you are so dressed up, when the rest have decent traveling garments, though."

"Ahh, that. Well, you see, I went to visit a friend at Thranduils palace, and they had me dress up for a feast they were having. I meant to change back into my travel clothes when I got that chance, but we were attacked before I could."

"You're traveling with a group of dwarves, who actually agreed to let you stop and visit a friend in the palace?" He asks incredulously.

"Well...yea?"

"Considering how much they dislike each other, I find that very hard to believe, though it makes me wonder if that has something to do with why the barrels look like they were struck by arrows."

"Why else would I have a dress like this on?"

"You have a fair point. I do think there's more to the story you aren't telling me, but believe you are telling me the truth, for the most part."

She notices the entire barge has gone silent, even Conner, and looks back to see everyone looking off to the side in silent awe. Looking over as well, she comes to her feet slowly as she sees a single mountain range in the distance. It seems only yesterday that they saw it as a speck, a far off dream seen from atop a rocky cliff. And while she doesn't feel quite the same way about the mountain as they do seeing it, she does know what it is they are feeling. For her, it's the ending point of their quest.

For them, it's a return home.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You've got to be bloody joking!"

"Not at all. I told you that you would have to be snuck into town. To do that, you have to get inside the barrel."

"And be covered by bloody fish?"

"Yes. If you don't, they can just glance in and see you. And what happens then?"

Dwalin glares at him, arms crossed menacingly, but doesn't argue further. Minutes later they are all in the barrels, except for Conner and Cricket, being covered by fish. Bard hands the fisherman a couple of coins, and they continue their journey, not far from the town now.

"Why exactly aren't we in barrels too?" Cricket asks curiously, though she honestly isn't that tore up about it. the dress was bad enough, without smelling like raw fish as well.

"Because they won't question a wet woman and child."

"Well, that's good, because I'd much rather not be covered in fish anyways."

"I figured you wouldn't." He says, a small smirk on his face as he hears a muffled grumble from the barrels.

"I don't tink Mista Dwalin likes bein covered in fishies."Conner says seriously to her, and she has to bite back a laugh.

"No honey, he doesn't, but it's the only way to get him into the town. Do you understand?"

"I fink so. It's kinda like hide an seek, wight?"

"Sure is, that's a really good way to explain it."She says, noticing his bare chest and grimacing."Hopefully we can find you a shirt when we get there."

"I still have a couple from when my boy was that size, he can have one until you get some more." Bard offers as they get closer to the town.

"That would be great, thank you." she says, holding Conner close to keep him warm.

As they finally drift up to the floating wooden town, they stop right outside a large gate, blocking them from the inner town. Bard nods at her before stepping up on the pier and talking to a man who steps out of the guard post. It seems like the conversation is going well, and after a few minutes the man waves for Bard and the barge to be let on through. Bard looks as relieved as she feels, and starts to walk back to guide the barge through.

"Not so fast." A weasely voice says from inside the building, and Cricket looks to see an oily, ugly man step out and grab the papers Bard handed the guard, looking them over. Bard looks both irritated and worried as he turns to face the man.

"Alfrid. To what to I owe the pleasure of your company?"Bard asks, and Cricket can almost feel the contempt in the air as the two stare each other down.

"Oh, you know Bard. I was walking through town, doing the Masters business, when someone mentioned you drift up." He takes a look at the papers, and Cricket gets a sick feeling in her stomach."Consignment of empty barrels from the woodland realm. Only, they're not empty, are they Bard? If I recall correctly, you're liscensed as a bargeman, not a fisherman."

"It's none of your business."

"Fine. It's the Masters business, which makes it my business."

"Oh come on Alfrid have a heart, people need to eat!"

"It doesn't matter. These fish are illegal." He looks to the guards that arrives with him."Dump them over the side." A guard takes one of the barrels and starts to tip it over, fish slowly exiting, and Cricket feels a moment of panick as she realizes they are about to be caught red-handed.

"Folk in this town are struggling. Times are hard, food is scarce." Bard says, trying to get the oily Alfrid to stop.

"That's not my problem."

"And when the people hear that the Master is dumping fish back in the lake? And the rioting starts?" This seems to strike a cord with the man, and he pauses, the guards doing so as well, waiting for orders. Cricket sees a chance to get them to stop, and steps in, hoping to help.

"Bard, is something wrong?" She says, coming up, jacket still around her shoulders, trying to look as much a damsel in distress as she can, as much as it pains her to do so. Alfrid glances up at her and strange look she doesn't quite like crosses his face as he looks her up and down.

"Alfrid here was just about to let us in the town." Bard says, realizing her plan.

"And just who is this poor, beautiful, wet woman?" Alfrid asks, leering at her, and she suppresses a shudder.

"My group was attack by orcs, and Conner and I barely escaped with our lives by jumping in to the water."Cricket says,making herself sound sad and distressed."Bard here was kind enough to rescue us, and said he would take us to town with him, where a kind leader might let me in so I might recuperate. It's ever so nice of him to let Bard bring these fish in so that people won't go hungry."Out of the corner of her eye she sees Bard suppress a smile, and she silently congratulates herself at her acting skills.

"You poor thing."Alfrid says, coming close to her and picking up her hand, kissing it, and she barely stops herself from wiping it off when he lets it go."Of course the Master will let you enter, he isn't a monster. You are invited to stop by his house and tell him all about the terrible accident that befell you,I'm sure he will give you assistance."

"Thank you, that is most charitable of him." She says, faking wiping a tear away. Alfrid leers at her once more as he waves the guards away from the barrels, and gives an overly cheesy bow, glaring at Bard before he walks away. Cricket tries very hard not to smile as they sail through the gate, and Bard leans over to whisper in her ear.

"That has to be the best acting I have ever seen, you had him wrapped around your little finger."

"I know, I didn't think I had it in me to act so...utterly helpless. I didn't like it. And now I want to jump back in the lake to wipe him off of me. I think he left a residue."

"Well, I think it was brilliant. Not only that, but you managed to get us through without being discovered."

"I think you had him at the riot thing, but there was nothing wrong with helping a bit. If my part hadn't helped, I would have had Conner start crying."

"I don't even think Alfrid could have said no to that." Bard says to her as they come to a stop inside the town."Now come on, let's get your friends out of there and to my house, and we can go from there."

Cricket nods and steps off the barge with Conner, wanting nothing more to get out of the wet dress and back into her elf clothes, feeling very uncomfortable as the people around her stare at her, and she pulls the coat tighter around herself. Hearing curses from behind her, she looks back to see the company being dumped from the barrels. She grins and walks over to them, still holding on to Conner, and offers Dwalin a hand up.

"Lass." He says once he is upright."That was the most over the top pile of dragon shit I have ever heard. How you pulled it off I'll never know."

"Because he was an idiot. And if he kisses me again I'm going to vomit, then knock his ass out."

He grins at her."Now that's the lass I know. I'll hold him down, you go at him."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Hey Mista Dwalin?" Conner asks as they make their way to Bards home.

"Yes lad, what is it?"

"You stink."

_Don't you just love how tactful children can be? Spending a bit of time in Lake town the next couple of chapters, and there will finally be talks about what went down between Bofur and Cricket. Maybe even revenge sex. Or drunken admissions. Or Nori being all noble and stuff._

_Who knows._

_Maybe drunken accidental sexy time._

_Maybe Alfrid will get knocked out after all._

_See you next week!_


	20. Bofur Explains it All

_Reveals! Protective Nori! Cute kid time!_

Some people have no idea how good it feels to wear dry clothes, after being stuck in drenched ones for hours on end.

Now, obviously it's different if you're wearing a bathing suit. They're made to wear in the water for long periods of time, and generally don't cover large areas of the body, causing you to get cold and sick if you keep them on outside the water. As well, you don't wear them in cold weather, making it easier to dry off and stay warm. But with a full set of clothes, it's completely different. The water stays absorbed until you can either wring them out or take them off for drying, and unless the sun is constantly shining brightly on you, cools your skin down extremely fast.

Cricket hadn't been in a bathing suit, she had worn an ankle length dress. And once it was finally off, she was more happy than she had ever been in her entire life taking off clothes.

Once they had made it to Bard's house(slowed down by the fact that not only did they have to sneak there, but everyone else had to make their way up into the house through the sewer), Cricket, after being introduced to Bard's children Bain, Sigrid and Tilda, was loaned one of his wifes old dresses to wear while her clothes dried.

While she changed into the dry dress, Kili put some dry clothes on Conner, Fili holding him down while the girls giggled at him trying to wiggle and escape. Cricket came out of the room just as he was clothed and finally released, watching as he proceeded to run around the house giggling like a madman, Tilda and Sigrid chasing behind him. Fili and Kili sigh in relief, both looking almost out of breath at putting clothes on him.

Certain he was in safe hands, she watched them make a circle around the house before going over to join the princes. She plops down between them and sighs happily, laying her head on Filis shoulder and closing her eyes.

"I take it you feel better?" Fili asks, chuckling at her.

"Soooo much better. No more wet dress clinging to my legs, all the rest of my clothes are hanging up to dry, and somehow you managed to get clothes on Conner. How did you enjoy that, by the way?"

"It reminded me of Kili when he was that age. Amad always had a tough time keeping clothes on him as well, though he didn't squirm quite as much as Conner did. I swear he has an endless supply of energy, no matter what form he takes."

"Yea, the first couple of times I had to stop him from running out of our room completely naked. He managed to get out once, but Legolas caught him and helped me at least get a tunic on him."

Fili smiles at the thought."I would have liked to see that, the faces of all of them at the sight of a naked child running down the halls. Priceless, I'm sure."

"Legolas stopped him before he got a chance to flash anyone, thank goodness. Anyway, my clothes should be dry by tonight."

"That's good, pretty sure Thorin wouldn't want you finishing up the journey in a dress."

"Pretty sure I wouldn't want me traveling in a dress, much less Thorin. Not only is riding side-saddle a pain in the ass, as long as the dresses tend to be here, trying to fight in one would probably suck major balls."

"How short are the dresses where you're from?" Fili asks, raising an eyebrow at her."And I don't know, might be an interesting sight, you running around chopping up goblins and orcs, dress flowing in the wind, splattered with the blood of your enemies..."

"Hush it you." Cricket says, lifting her head and popping him on the arm. "And the dresses aren't that short where I'm from."

"I don't know." Kili pops in."That dress you wore when we were back at your home was pretty short. And sleeveless. And showed off a lot of.."

"Kili! You aren't helping!" She yells, nearly pushing him off the bench while Fili laughs at the two of them.

"I'm just telling the truth!"

"Brother dear, remind me we need to have a long talk about what all happened while you were there. Like for example how you are taller than me now."

"Ok, there is so much I want to tell you! The popcorn, and the comics, ohh, and riding in her car!"

Cricket rolls her eyes but smiles at the two of them. "Talks about my world later boys. Right now, tell me what the table surrounded by grumpy males is all about?"

Fili and Kili both glance over at the table, Fili letting out a heavy sigh."While you were changing, Bard brought us the weapons he promised us." He inclines his head towards what looks like a thick wooden staff with a shark hook attached to it, along with another with a spiked hammer handle, and she lets out a groan."He says all the good steel and iron weapons are holed up in the soldiers barracks, and that these will do us in a pinch. Needless to say, Dwalin and Thorin weren't pleased."

"Well it's not like we can go and ask for them to hand us over some of their weapons, can we? It's better than nothing."

"Try telling them that." Kili grumbles.

"Yea, no thanks." She says, looking over at the increasingly angry faces. She catches Conner running circles around the room still out of the corner of her eye."I'd rather watch Conner tire himself out so both of us can sleep tonight."

"You and me both. I've barely slept a wink since you three fell into the water in the Mirkwoods."

"I bet not. I'm sorry you were down there so long, I did try to get you out."

"I know you did. What matters is that we're out now, and able to try to continue the quest."

As she is about to answer there is a loud slam, and all three of them look over to see Bard walk away from the table, pausing for a moment to speak quietly to Bain before going out the door. Bain stops Tilda and Sigrid and whispers something to them before letting resume their game of chase.

Cricket gets an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach as he leaves the house, and stands up, walking over to where Bain is standing akwardly."Hey, is your dad ok?" She asks him, worry tinting her voice."He walked out kind of suddenly."

"Da? Yes, he just wanted to check on something in town, he should be back soon." He tells her, looking up with a hesitant smile."Are you hungry? We don't have much, but Da did get some things at the market yesterday, and I need to feed my sisters anyway."

"Conner could always eat, and I'm a bit peckish myself."She says, smiling back gently at him."Do you have bread and cheese? Maybe a little bit of butter?"

"Yes, we have a couple of fresh loaves, and a wheel of cheese, as well as a pat of butter on the table."

"Good. Grab Conner and your sisters, and meet me at the table. I'll make us all some sandwiches."

He nods furiously at her and runs off to grab the others, while she walks past the whispering group of dwarves and gets out her bag, digging around for the emergency kit she made herself. Once found, she takes out a tictac container of garlic salt she put in there, as well as one of her daggers, and heads to the table now filled with children wiggling in their seats.

"All right kiddos, we're going to have some make-shift grilled cheese sandwiches." She says as all of them look at her in curious anticipation, eyes wide, feet kicking."Bain, hand me one of the loaves of bread and the cheese. Tilda, push over that candle and the butter to me. Now, let's make some lunch."  
*

Thirty minutes later all of them are munching happily on the make-shift grilled cheese sandwiches, blocking out any arguing the dwarves behind them are doing, though Bain does keep glancing up at them every once in a while. The only one not arguing is Bilbo, who just stands there watching them, coughing quietly into his hand every couple of minutes, looking a bit worse for the wear. She makes a mental note to check on him when everyone finally stops arguing, feeling a bit under the weather herself, but not quite as bad as poor Bilbo looked.

"That was very good Miss Cricket, thank you." Sigrid says as she finishes off her sandwich, a content and full look on her face, the others nodding in agreement."You didn't have to go to all that trouble to make some for all of us."

"Don't worry about it, it was no trouble at all. Think of it as a thank you for loaning us the clothes we're wearing."

"It's a deal. And not only was it filling, but we still have most of the bread and cheese left!" Tilda says with a grin."But what about the rest of your group, won't they be hungry as well?"

"They'll manage for now, I wasn't going to use up every bit of food you had to fill them up. I can go down to the market later and buy some for them."

"That..may be a problem, Miss." Bain says, eyes wide and worried as he points behind her. She turns around to see everyone gone from the room, and just manages to see one of them disappearing into the room they crawled up from. Cricket curses to herself and stands up quickly, just managing to catch up to catch up to Nori in the back.

"Where the hell are all of you going?" She hisses at him too low for the children to hear."And why the hell were you leaving without telling me anything?"

He glances at Dori making his way down before looking back at her."Don't blame me, it was Thorin's idea. He wants us to raid the guardhouse tonight for weapons. We wanted to tell you, but he said it would be better to let you occupy the little ones, and the Bowman when he comes back. We were going to come back for the both of you when we were done."

"That's not the point!" She says, for now ignoring the fact that Thorin was being an ass again."You were going to leave without a word! I would have been worried about all of you!"

"Balin tried to tell him that, but you know how Thorin high and mighty pants can be." Nori says with a snort."What matters is that you know now. I have to go before I lose them, but we will be back, I promise."

"I really dislike you guys sometimes, you know that?"

"Nope, you love us, even when we are being grouchy, or violent, or just plain idiotic." He says with a wink, Cricket crossing her arms and glaring at him."Now, sit tight, we'll be back at dark."

Cricket watches him climb down then walks slowly back to the table. The children watch as she sits down and proceeds to thunk her head against the thick wood in exasperation.

"Um, Miss Cricket? What are you doing?" Sigrid asks, all of them a bit confused at her actions.

"I'm traveling with a group of stubborn, hard-headed idiots, and I'm trying to make my brain stop hurting from all the stupid."

"Won't that just make your head hurt more?"

"Probably."

When no one says anything she stops and looks up at them."Sorry, just needed to get that out of my system. What should we do to pass them time?"

"Oh oh, can we watch a movie?" Conner asks, jumping up excitedly."You said if I was good I could watch one!"

"Welll...I don't know."She muses, looking over at Bard's children."Can you three keep a secret?"

"Yes Miss Cricket!" They all say, Conner's excitement contagious.

"Well then, I've got..a type of magic to show you. Make a big pile of blankets and pillows on the floor for all of us to lay on, and I'll let you see it."

"Yay, movie time!" Conner yells, and runs off with the others to make their make-shift bed on the floor, large enough for all of them to be comfortable on. While they do that, Cricket goes over once more to her bag and pulls out her tablet, glad she decided to keep it fully charged while at the palace. Turning it on, she searches through her files until she finds something all the children should like, then goes to join them on the floor, propping the tablet up on its side with the case it was in, then laying on her stomach in the middle of all of them.

"What kind of magic is it Miss?" Bain asks while Conner snuggles in close to Cricket, happy look on his face.

"It's called a movie. This one in particular is a cartoon, where I come from children watch them all the time, as well as some adults. This one is called Beauty and the Beast." She proceeds to press the play button, giggling a bit when Bards kids jump at the sudden noise. Their curiosity soon gets the better of them though, and in no time at all they are huddled close together, intently watching the movie.  
*

Bards returns about the same time that Lumiere starts singing 'Be our Guest' to Belle. The children had adapted to the idea of movie pictures extremely well, and their eyes were glued to the screen when their father walked in the house. After getting a quick glance at his face, Cricket detangles herself from the pile of children and gets up, moving towards him

"Where did your company go?" Bard asks hurriedly after seeing that they were no longer there."I asked Bain to keep them in the house."

"Bard, no offense, but Bain wouldn't be able to stop them if they had their minds set on leaving. As to your question..."She looks guiltily down at the floor."They snuck back out through the sewer. I didn't know until the last one was about to climb down."

Bards face goes pale and he slams his hand against the wood frame."How long have they been gone?"

"About 45 minutes."

"Damnit!" He curses, and turns to her."Tell me, the leader of your company...is he really Thorin Oakenshield? King under the mountain?"

She starts to deny it, but stops herself, figuring if he has already figured it this far, and has helped them so much, he deserves to know the truth."He is."

"And you aren't going to the Iron Hills, you're going to reclaim the mountain."

"Yes. I'm sorry for lying to you, but they didn't want anyone to know the truth."

"Considering if they wake Smaug, he'll most likely kill them all then come for us? I can understand why! Where did they go?"

"To the guardhouse. They plan on raiding it for weapons. A stupid plan, I know, but they won't listen to anyone once they decide to do something."

Bard sits down heavily in a chair next to him, glancing over at the children piled in the floor. Conner and Tilda were in the middle, with Bain and Sigrid on either side of them, happy looks on all of their faces."Thank you for watching my children at least. They seem to like the both of you."

"I just like kids, and they can tell." She says, sitting next to him."Listen, it may not mean much to you, but I am sorry. You have helped us so much, and I'm really grateful, even if the others aren't. If you want, I will go with you to try to stop them."

Bard looks at her and opens his mouth to speak, but before he can there is a loud noise from outside the house, coming in the direction of the Masters residence."Sounds like we may be too late." He groans, and rises quickly from his chair."Tilda, watch the others, Miss Cricket and I have to leave for a bit. Miss Cricket, let's go see how much trouble your friends have gotten themselves into."

"Oh goody, just what I wanted to do today." She says, following as he speeds out of the house. They make their way towards the sounds of yelling, getting louder as they near a mass of people in front of the Masters house. Pushing her way through, she breaks through to see the company captured, standing in front of a stairway. On the middle of the stairway is a large man with a mousey face, hairs combed over the bald part of his head, dressed in a thick robe much finer than anything most of the villagers are wearing. The oily Alfrid is standing next to him, staring down at them as the Master looks down on them. She just manages to catch the tail end of Thorin speaking to the people, asking them if they would see the days of old return, for the city to return to the glory it once was. They people seem enthused by his speech, the Master worried, and Cricket is once again reminded of how great a speaker Thorin can be.

"Death, that is what you will bring upon us." Says a voice to the side of her, and she looks over to see Bard bursting through the crown, stern look on his face. Thorin turns to face him, face stoic."Death, and fire, and ruin. If you awaken that beast, you will destroy us all."

"You can listen to this naysayer, but I promise you this. If we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain. Not only that, but I have a secret weapon to defeating the beast." Cricket frowns at this, the first time she had heard of a secret weapon against the dragon, and wonders what he's talking about. The rest of the people once again seem excited to have such a hope, and she can see Bard frowning out of the corner of her eye as well."You will have enough gold to build Dale ten times over!" Thorin yells, and the people now start to cheer. Cricket sees Alfrid and the Master smiling suspiciously, and her stomach turns.

"All of you, listen!" Bard shouts over the cheering."Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?" This quiets the people, and they start murmuring to one another."Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm? And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain king." This causes Thorin to stare stonily at him, but Bard continues."So driven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!"

"Now now, we must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame." The Master says, pointing a finger at Bard."Let us not forget that is was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast!"

Cricket sucks in a breath, and looks over at Bard, his expression falling to guilt as everyone starts to yell towards him, Thorin staring at him in stoic surprise.

"It's true sire." Alfrid says."We all know the story, arrow after arrow he shot, each one missing its mark."

Bard looks extremely pissed off, and looks ready to speak. Cricket, not liking the put downs of either Thorin or Bard, steps up, to speak on their behalf."And what does that have to do with Bard?" She asks, voice bolder than she felt. The Master looks up at her is surprise, as well as the rest of the company.

"Who are you, yo speak against your betters?" The Master asks, pissing her off to no end. Alfrid sees her and leers, whispering into his ear. The Master nods and looks back over at her, leering as well, looking her over.

"You certainly aren't my better, so cut that out right now. I speak as one who is a friend to both parties. You cannot blame Bard for something his ancestor failed to do, just as you can't blame Thorin for something his did. That would be like blaming a child for their grandfather insulting another person, or blaming a farmer for a drought. They had nothing to do with it, so stop laying blame all together, it's stupid and wrong." She sees Nori smirking at her from within the company, and Bard looks grateful for her defense, even though it went to Thorin as well.

He walks slowly up to Thorin and says something softly to him, soft enough that she can't hear, but whatever he says has Thorin on edge. Thorin replies just as quietly. then turns his back on Bard, looking up the stairs."I speak to the Master of the men of the lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people?"

The Master stares him down, and everyone stays quiet as they wait for him to answer. Cricket glances up as well to see Alfrid still leering at her, and shudders under his gaze, wishing she had a knife on her. "What say you?" Thorin repeats.

"I say onto you..." The Master says, pointing at Thorin."...Welcome!" The people once again start to cheer, and Alfrid puts a cheesy smile on his face."Welcome! A bright welcome, King under the mountain!" Bard stands there staring at Thorin, face drawn with worry, while Thorin steps up on the stairs to look back at the cheering people."Put these fine dwarves up in our best rooms, give them whatever they want, they are our honored guests until they leave us to reclaim the mountain!"

"Thank you for your kindness." Thorin says as Alfrid steps down to him."We have need of many things, if we are to continue our journey."

"And we will provide you with everything." Alfrid says, placing a hand on his shoulder."Tell me, how many are in your group, so we might know how many rooms we will need to prepare?"

"13 dwarves, one hobbit, a woman and a toddler." Thorin says, glancing over at Cricket. Alfrid follows his gaze and she meets his stare, trying not to once again shudder as he looks her up and down, smiling that perverted smile of his. Thorin doesn't seem to notice as he whispers something to Balin, but Nori and Dwalin do, and they both move in front of her to block her from his sight, scowls on their faces.

"As you say, we will have rooms set up for all of you, though some of you may have to share. Not you, of course. Is the woman..with..one of you, or.."

"She and the toddler will need their own room."

"How interesting. If you will follow me, I will lead you to the inn you will be housed, and there a great feast will be set for you."

As the dwarves start following behind the man, Dwalin and Nori glance back at her."He was staring at you like you were his next meal." Dwalin says with a growl, and Nori nods in agreement.

"Don't say things like that, I may throw up in my mouth a little. Bad enough every time he looks at me I feel like bugs are crawling all over me, and when he kissed my hand I wanted to chop it off to get the oily feeling off."

"Well, if he tries anything, he may find himself missing certain limbs. Or his tongue. Depends on what he tries."

"Fine with me, you might have to beat me to it though." She says as she watches Alfrid lead them to an Inn not too far by."I suppose if we're going to be staying somewhere else, I should get my stuff. You two want to follow me to get whats left at Bards?"

"Sure, let's go." Nori says, and they both escort her back to the house, not too far behind Bard. All three of them were quiet the walk back, Cricket thinking about what Bard had said to Thorin. What if Smaug was still alive in the mountain? What if they end up waking him, and he goes on a rampage, coming back to finish what he started with the remaining people of Dale? She remembered very well that one of her visions from Galadriels mirror was a dragon raining fire down on a floating town, as well that Galadriel said nothing was written in stone.

Hopefully that was one of the things she could change.

They follow Bard inside his house, and he doesn't seem too surprised to see them there. He looks at them wearily and nods, inclining his head towards their small remaining gear."Go ahead and take it, and please leave my house. You have caused me enough trouble already, and the rest of the town seems eager to serve you. For your sake and ours, I hope the dragon is dead. Because if not, we're all doomed."

"You two go ahead and bring the stuff to the inn, I need to get my stuff and Conner together." She says to the two with her, and they nod, walking over to start picking up their gear. She walks over to Bard and puts her hand on his shoulder."We really didn't want to cause you any trouble. They just want their home back, that's all."

"I can understand that, I really can, but getting their home back involves putting everyone nearby in danger. Thorin just doesn't seem to understand that. I don't care if he thinks he has a secret weapon, He is being just as greedy as his grandfather."

Cricket has heard this before, the signs of gold-sickness, and hopes that Bard is wrong. Surely he wouldn't go so far as to endanger others just for a pile of gold and jewels, would he?"Well, as it is, it looks like we won't be immediately leaving, so maybe there is enough time to try to talk some sense into him,about what to do if the dragon is still alive. The last thing I want is to get anyone killed."

"Good luck, you said it yourself, they are a stubborn race." He says, sighing heavily."But I am keeping you from getting your things. You may keep the dress until you have a chance to change into your own clothes, and Conner may keep the ones he is wearing, Bain has no need of them anymore."

"Thank you. That gives me a reason to come visit everyone while we are still here."

He smiles sadly at her."The children would like that. They seem to have taken a liking to Conner over there."

Sure enough, in the middle of the floor, all of the children were asleep, having finished the movie. Cricket quietly goes to pack up her own stuff, all her clothes dry now, and puts it in her bag. Once packed, she goes over to the sleep toddler and picks him up gently, his head laying on her shoulder as he stays asleep. She nods at Bard."Thank you, I will be back to visit." And heads out the door, to where Dwalin and Nori were waiting on her.

"I know you said go ahead and go, but what with the way that man was looking at you, we'd rather you have an escort." Nori says, grim smile on his face. Dwalin nods, arms full of bags."Not only that, what with you having an armful of sleeping child, it would be pretty hard for you to open any doors. So here we are, at your service."

"Thanks you guys." She says, very grateful for the two of them. It was actually very strange, usually neither of them got along very well with each other, seeing as they were on opposite sides of the job spectrum and all, but when it came to her, they usually were in agreement. Not to say that Dwalin wouldn't smack him with his hammer if he found out that Nori was so handsy around her, but that was besides the point."Lets see what kind of rooms they have set up for us."  
*

Turns out the rooms were actually very nice. Once they gave everyone their stuff, Cricket was shown to the room that Conner and her would share. It held a queen size bed which she immediately set Conner down on, and a large basin for washing up in, as well as a cherry wood wardrobe to keep her things in. She also had a large, old-fashioned key to lock up her room with, and a window that looked out over the water. Cricket set down her things and, after sending Conner a quiet message that she was going to get some food and would be right back, walked out, locking the door behind her.

All the rest of the company was downstairs as well, and most of them had started drinking heartily. Smiling to herself she quickly filled a plate with enough food for both of them in case Conner woke back up, nodding at Kili at the table, nursing a pint. He nods back, a big smile on his face, and she quickly goes over to him, whispering that she is going to bed for the night, and she makes her way back to the room, not really feeling up for festivities. Once there, she closes the door and locks up for the night, trusting Kili to tell everyone to leave her alone for the night.

Bofur watches her leave, already half drunk, trying to kill the guilt inside himself. He hadn't spoken a word to her since the incident in the cells, and the only time he had caught her eye since then, he had looked down at the ground, not able to keep her gaze. He had caught himself watching her several times since then, wondering if he had made the wrong choice, pushing her away just to try to keep her safe. Thranduil had sounded so convincing, and he did truly want to keep her safe...but now he wondered if the elf king simply wanted to keep her there for his own plans.

All this goes through his mind as he finishes off yet another beer. All the others seem to be enjoying theirselves, laughing and eating and drinking and joking with anyone close to them, simply glad to not have to hide anymore, to be able to finish their quest fully equipped, no one paying any attention to how unnaturally quiet he was. The only one who really noticed at all was Bifur, and even he was having a good time, sharing a story in Khudzul with Dwalin, both roaring with laughter, pounding the table loudly. Thorin was the only other one staying reserved, but that was Thorin for you. Always keeping his wits about him, never truly trusting anyone who wasn't a dwarf, not even Bilbo and Cricket. Thorin simply sat at the head of the table, sipping his beer, watching everyone else enjoy themselves.

Bofur fills his pint once again, and is about to take another drink, when he feels a hand grab him by the collar, putting another over his mouth, and he is stealthily dragged into one of the bedrooms. Once he is completely in he is pushed away, and he hears the door lock behind them. Turning around, he sees Nori staring at him, a strange look in his eyes. Now that Bofur thinks about it, he didn't see Nori drinking much either, instead he seemed to stare into his pint, contemplating something. Nori gets a calm smile on his face, and Bofur feels a bit of dread.

"What are you doing, why did you drag me in here? I know I haven't drank too much, and even if I did, you have no right to decide when I stop!"

"Oh Bofur, I don't care how much you drink." Nori says calmly, taking a step towards him."I brought you here because we need to have a much-needed talk."

Bofur, in his inebriated state, doesn't let it click what Nori could possibly want to talk about. Instead he stares at Nori blankly, wondering on earth he could be talking about."What do you want to talk about? Surely you don't want me to help you with a heist, I'm not the quietest dwarrow in the world for sure, Bifur would be much more suited."

"I don't want your help with a heist either. No, I want to talk about...Cricket."

Bofurs face goes pale and he drops the pint he was holding, letting it spill everywhere."I..don't know what you are talking about. What about Cricket exactly? I know just as much about her as everyone else."

"Oh, that's not true and we both know it. Remember, I saw her running off crying that day she came to visit us in the cells, running away from yours. And since then, since the two of you got back from her home, you two won't talk to each other, and the few times she has looked at you she gets angry. Hell, you stay as far away from her as you can! I want to know what the hell you did to her, what you said to her. And just know, if you won't tell me willingly, I can make you talk. Or even better, I'll go get Dwalin, and let him know something is up. I'm sure he would be interested in finding out what you did to her."

"You're bluffing."

"Look at me. Do I look like I'm bluffing?" Bofur looks into Nori's eyes, and sees the determination and truth there. He definitely isn't bluffing, and though he hates to do so, he knows he has to tell him what happened. The only thing that comforts him is knowing that Nori won't do anything to hurt her further, and may even be able to help comfort her. Taking a deep breath, he nods, and goes to sit down in a chair in the room. Nori follows him but remains standing, arms crossed over his chest, face nearly beating Thorins for being stoic.

"You..you already know part of it. When we fell into the water, we somehow woke up in her world. A foot taller, I might add. She took us to her home, fed us, introduced us to several things there we don't have here, she even took us to get clothes from her world. That night, we went to what she called a park, and watched a fireworks show, some that would have even rivaled Gandafls. She sat between us, holding both of our hands as we stared up at the sky. It was one of the best nights of my life." Bofur pauses, remembering that moment, her head on his shoulder, her hand in his, almost feeling like there was nothing but the two of them in that moment."That night, she introduced us to some of their alcohol. Kili passed out on the couch, while we both finished off ours and went to our separate beds."

"Sounds innocent so far, and explains why you are a bit taller now." Nori remarks, face still impassive."And I'd like to hear more about what you saw there at a later time. What happened next?"

"It was innocent, up until that point. Only, neither of us could sleep, and I ended up going to her room, where she was wide awake in bed, watching something on her tv. We talked for a while, both of us still a bit inebriated, and before we knew it, we were..kissing. And more."

"Did you sleep with her?" Nori asks, deceptively calm. As one of the ones who was actually quite attracted to her, it wasn't that he was mad she might have chosen Bofur as a playmate, more along the lines that she might have been taken advantage of in her state. If he ever got the chance to be with her, he wanted her to be of a right mind, it completely her choice. He may be seen as a rogue, but that was one thing he was straight about. He would never force a woman, never be the reason one cried. It was one of the reasons he was here now, finding out why Cricket was so upset, so out of it lately."Did you force yourself on her?"

"What? No, never!"Bofur cries, straightening out completely."I would never force myself on her! We weren't that drunk, and we didn't get chance to even try to go all the way. We were interrupted by Kili falling off the couch in his sleep, and when she went to check on him, we started to be transported back here."

"But if he hadn't, would you have slept with her? Knowing she might not have been completely in control of her own actions?"

"..Yes." Bofur says quietly, looking down on the ground. Nori nods and walks around the room, thinking to himself. He comes back to stand in front of Bofur once more, knowing there is more to it.

"That isn't the complete reason she is so upset though, is it."Bofur nods, still looking at the ground."What happened in the palace?"

"I got called back into the elf kings throne room for a second time, and he started talking to me about her. Saying how she was a very important person now, and must be protected. That having friends and family would be a liability, as once people found out who she was, she would constantly be throwing herself in front of danger, trying to save us. That family and loved ones are the easiest ones to go through to try to capture or kill her. That part of the reason she might be kept in out world is because she doesn't want to let any of us down, to upset any of us. That Conner could actually be trained to travel between realms, but as long as she was traveling with us, he couldn't get the training he needed. That being on the quest at all put her in danger. That if Thorin is taken hold by the gold sickness after all, that the first thing he would go after would be Conner, and Cricket would step between them to protect him. That Thorin would hurt her to get to him, to get what he wants. He said I looked like a sensible sort, for a dwarf, and that maybe I could talk some sense into her."

Nori looks incredulously at him."And you believed him? How could you not tell he was working you over?"

"I don't know, it just seemed to make sense. I mean, come one, how much do we really know about dragons, and their bondmates? Maybe Conner really could be trained to travel between the realms, so she wouldn't have to choose which to stay in."

Nori just shakes his head at him, not believing what he is hearing."What did you say to her Bofur? What did you say to try to 'talk sense' into her?"

Bofur refuses to look up, eyes trained on the ground, one tear hitting the ground as he slowly speaks."I told her I got her out of my system finally. That we simply messed around, nothing special, and she shouldn't act like it was. That she was acting like a silly little girl, being emotional over a bloody kiss. That I didn't feel that way about her, that we just acted out some of the jokes we had made on the journey here. That if she is going to act like that over a drunken kiss, maybe should she stay with the elves, because we don't need her emotional baggage on the quest slowing us down. I..said such horrible things to her. All to try to protect her."

He looks up just in time for Nori's fist to hit his jaw, knocking him out of the chair and onto the ground. He doesn't try to fight back, but merely lays there, face on the floor, while Nori fumes at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Who tells something like to someone they care about, just to protect them? For Mahals's sake, you did more harm than good! You ripped up her heart and spat on it, basically told her she wasn't good enough for you! And all because Thranduil told you she needed to stay there? He wanted her to marry his son! And who are you to decide she doesn't need to go on the quest when she's on it willingly? She knew she would be in danger coming with us, and still agreed to! You're lucky she didn't kick you in the balls the first chance she got!"

"I know."

"She trusted you, Bofur, and you used that against her. I should gut you where you are."

"Go ahead. It won't make me feel any worse than I do right now. Hell, it would bring me some relief."

"Which is why I won't." Nori says, rage still in his eyes."I'm leaving you to stew in what you did. And you will tell her before we leave, Bofur. She deserves the truth."

"But.."

"No buts. If you don't tell her yourself, I will get both Bifur and Dwalin, and all three of us will drag you in front of her, and then you will tell her the truth, only with an audience. A very angry audience. Do you understand me? I know it will hurt her at first, but she deserves to know why you said those things to her. Then she can actually start to heal."

Bofur doesn't say anything, and Nori takes that as a yes. He then unlocks the door and walks out of the room, leaving Bofur alone on the floor.

Nori was still very angry as he left, and immediately grabbed a pint to drink once he got back to the dining hall, hoping it would calm his nerves. Looking around, he noticed that Cricket wasn't there, and went over to ask Kili where she had went.

"She went to her room with a plate a food, said she wasn't up for celebrating." Kili said, still nursing his pint."Said she would see everyone in the morning. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing that can't wait till tomorrow. The lass needs a good night sleep as much as the rest of us." Nori says, grabbing a roll and examining it thoughtfully. If she was locked in her room, the ratty looking assistant of the Master couldn't bother her, which was a good thing. Hopefully before they leave, all the drama between her and Bofur could be settled. He had a feeling that Bofur had admitted some things to her that night that made his betrayal of her all the more hurtful, and it took all of his self-control not enact revenge on him for her. He wasn't bluffing about having Dwalin and Bifur help drag him in front of her though. He simply wouldn't tell the reason the were doing so, and let them find out when Bofur admitted the truth to her.

Better here, than on the road.

As he looks around, taking in everything, he noticed something strange about Bilbo. The poor Hobbit was pale and clammy looking, and kept coughing into his hand, not eating anything. That strikes a warning bell in him, as he knows how much Bilbo likes a good meal. Walking over to Oin, he whispers into his ear, and they both look over at Bilbo. Oin's face takes on his healer look and he walks straight over to Bilbo, placing his hand on his forehead without a word, then forcing open his mouth, much to Bilbo's surprise.

"What are you doing Master Oin?" Bilbo asks weakly, not fighting it. Thorin looks over curiously, and Oin looks worried.

"Lad, we need to get you in bed right away. You are burning up, and your throat is bright red."

"I don't know what you could possibly be talking about, I'm fine." Bilbo protests, then promptly falls partly over, only stopped by Thorin grabbing him and stopping him from hitting the ground. Bilbo's eyes are glazed as he looks over at Thorin, then passes out in his arms.

"Master Oin?"

"Get him to bed, we need to get some medicine in him immediately."

The night ends quickly after that, everyone worried about Bilbo being sick. Oin eventually kicks everyone out of Bilbos room except for Thorin, who says he is merely worried about the state of his burglar. Bofur hears everyone worried from outside his room, but doesn't make a move to leave it, going over what Nori had told him, and what he needed to tell Cricket.

Everyone else went to their respective rooms that night to sleep, except for Nori. Nori found a very comfortable, shadowy corner in which he could keep an eye on Crickets door, and was very glad he did. He had always been a light sleeper, and when, about three in the morning, Alfrid attempted to get into her room, thwarted by the locked door, he noticed. He also decided he wouldn't be sleeping in his room while he was there, as he didn't trust the oily little man farther than he could throw him. Which had just proven to be a good thing, as he would now have to constantly be on the lookout for him trying to get his way with Cricket.

Maybe Alfrid should have a good talk with him as well. Him, and the rest of the company, once they found out he had tried to get into her room while they were all asleep.

After all, that's what family is for.

_Finally, someone forces Bofur to spill the beans! Look forward to some time spent in Laketown while poor Bilbo is sick, and Bofur finally apoligizing to Cricket._

_Nori is pretty bad-ass, huh?_

_See ya next week!_


	21. Flowers and cookies

Cricket woke the next morning to a small body on top of her, quietly saying her name. It took a while for it to register, as she had been having a very interesting dream about Jon Snow that she didn't want to wake up from.

"Mama Cwicket, wake up!"

"Five more minutes." Cricket moans, pulling the covers over her head. Conner however has different plans, and starts bouncing up and down on her, voice louder and more insistent.

"Mama Cwicket, wake up! Wake up! It's bweakfast time, wake up!"

She sighs under the covers, smiling to herself, before throwing them off and grabbing him, throwing him down on the bed and proceeding to tickle him mercilessly."Breakfast time huh? You woke me up for breakfast time? Well I happen to think that its tickle the silly little dragon who woke me up time, what do you think?"

Conner is a mass of flailing limbs, giggling helplessly as tears run down his cheeks."Heehee, no Mama Cwicket! It's..heeheehee...bweakfast time! I'm...hahaha...hungwy!"

She continues to tickle him until he is nearly out of breath from laughing so hard, then sits there grinning at him as he lies there, recovering from the tickle attack. When he can finally breathe normally again, he looks over happily at her and jumps into her arms for a hug, squeezing tightly. Looking up at her he smiles innocently(a tactic he's already learned from Kili to try and get out of trouble), and utters a single word."Bweakfast?"

"Well, now that I'm awake, we might as well go down and get some." She says, and Conner lets out an excited yell."But, you have to wait until I have changed clothes, and put some back on you, all right? And we both need to brush our teeth. Just because everyone else smells like everything they ever ate when they talk, doesn't mean we should." She was exaggerating a bit, as most of the people did have a type of root they chewed on to help keep their teeth clean, and she had even convinced the company to starting chewing on mint leaves in the morning to help with their breath, but it wasn't quite the same.

"Ok!" Conner says happily, and jumps off the bed, running around in a nightshirt given to him by one of the innkeepers last night when he briefly woke up. Smiling indulgently at him, she climbs off the bed as well, going over to her bag and digging out the now dry dress she had been given in Rivendale, as well as fresh underthings, and changes into them after a quick wipe down of her body to feel a bit more refreshed. After she is done she does the same to Conner, putting him back into the clothes Bard had given him, then brushes both of their teeth. Conners hair proves to be as unruly as Bilbos, and the most she can do is constantly brush her bangs out of her face. She finds herself wishing she had a bobby pin, or a barrete, or something to keep them out of her eyes. Once they are both have fresh breath, she unlocks the door and heads out, Conners hand in hers.

As she locks the door behind her, the first thing she notices upon turning around is the smell of coffee, followed by the scents of bacon, and eggs fried in butter. Conner takes a deep breath in as well, inhaling the wonderful scents of food as well, and they both make their way down the stairs, her room being right in front of the staircase on the second floor. Everyone else had rooms on the first or second floor as well, with Thorin and the princes on the better furnished third floor.

Reaching the bottom and looking out on the dining hall, she sees that only a few of the company members were up and about. Only Balin, Dwalin, Kili, Fili and Bombur were up and eating, and once he sees them, Conner jerks out of her hand and runs to Kili, hugging him tightly around the waist and grinning up at him."G'morning Kili!"

Kili smiles back and picks him up, putting Conner on his lap."Good morning Conner, did you sleep ok?"

"Yes, and Mama Cwicket sleept too well. I hadta jump on her to wake her up. I tink she was havin a good dweam."

"Is that so?" Fili asks, casting an amused glance Crickets way as she pours herself a cup of coffee and sits down between him and Kili, grabbing a plate and loading it down. Dwalin and Balin do the same, while Conner steals a slice of bacon off Kilis plate.

"Yep. The little terror jumped up and down on my stomach to wake me up, so I proceeded to hold him down and tickle him into submission. How he can have that much energy, this early in the morning, I'll never know. I barely have the energy to function after a cup of coffee."]

"You and me both lass." Dwalin says, nursing his own cup."You're lucky he isn't a brat like some, and actually listens to you."  
"Don't I know it. I have seen way too many kids in need of a spanking, whose parents just give them a sweet or toy to make them stop. I'll be damned if Conner turns out that bad, a spoiled 70 pound 3-year-old." She looks over to see Conner on the table now, with Kili tossing bits of food into his mouth, both of them looking like they don't have a care in the world."He is fine just the way he is. By the way, where is everyone? Last time I checked everyone seemed to still wake about the same time, and no one ever misses a meal."

"Those that aren't asleep from drinking too much last night, stayed up late worrying about Master Baggins." Balin says, buttering a slice of bread.

"What's wrong with Bilbo?" Cricket asks worriedly.

"That's right, you went to bed early, so you wouldn't know. Master Baggins apparently became sick from being in the water so long, and passed out last night here in the dining hall. Oin says his throat is inflamed, and that he has a fever, so we won't be able to leave until he gets better."

"That's horrible, will he be ok? Does he have enough medicine? I have some things in my bag that help reduce fever if that might help."

Balin smiles reassuringly at her."He will be fine lass. Oin is a skilled healer, and will have Master Baggins back to normal in no time at all. In the meantime, it will give all of us time to gather supplies for the remainder of the journey. The entire town has agreed to give us whatever we need, food, clothes, weapons, you name it. The little lad there could certainly use some sturdy traveling clothes, and a good pair of boots as well, don't you think?"

"Well, I did plan on getting him some more clothes anyway, and he can't run around barefoot forever. I kind of feel bad for them doing everything free of charge, though, I suppose if Thorin really does share the mountain treasure with the town, they will be paid back eventually."

"See? Why don't you and the lads go out after breakfast and get fitted for some new gear? As long as one of the lads are with you, they will know you as a member of the company."

"As long as they don't mind, I don't. I would rather have them with me in case Conner starts to get rambunctious anyway. Any chance I could see Bilbo before we leave?"

"I would wait until you get back lass, better chance he will be awake. Not only that, Thorin and Oin most likely wouldn't let you in this early."

She looks at him in confusion."Oin I can understand stopping me, but why would Thorin?"

"Because Thorin has kept a vigil over him ever since he fell ill. He even had Master Baggins brought to his room, to make sure he was getting the best care and rest he possible could, as well as privacy. He's become rather protective over our little burglar."

"I bet he has." Cricket says softly to herself, and Balin gives her a strange look."All right, no visiting Bilbo until we get back. I am going to talk to Oin about trying him out on some of my medicine thought, just in case he doesn't get better soon." She grabs a couple slices of bacon and bites them in half, closing her eyes and enjoying the greasy, crispy goodness of it.

"I'm sure Oin would enjoy looking into the effectiveness of your worlds medicine, lass." Balin says, then looks over at the princes."Would you lads be good enough to go out with Conner and Miss Cricket this morning, so that all of you could be fitted for some new traveling gear? Maybe go out and visit the various shop owners a list of things we will need for the quest as well? That way everything will be ready the same time we are."

"Well I don't mind." Fili says, finishing up his plate."It's not like we can do much else while we are here, and Conner does need his own things. Kee?"

Kili pauses from where he's taking a sausage link from Conner and looks up."What? Oh, yes of course. I'm getting tired of walking around in nothing but a shirt and trousers anyway, and it gets cold here at night, as well as on the mountain. What do you say Conner? Do you want to get fitted for some clothes of your very own?"

"Do I hafta?"

Typical little boy, wanting to wear as little clothes as possible, Cricket thinks to herself."Yes honey, you do, and you know it." She lowers her voice a bit and leans in closer to him so that only the people closest to her can hear."Even if we weren't surrounded by strangers, it can get chilly where we are going, and I'd rather have you prepared for whatever form you are in. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I undewstand." Conner says a bit sulkily, and she has to stop herself from laughing at his jutted out lower lip.

"I tell you what. If you are good at the tailors, maybe we will get you a treat afterwards. Deal?"

Conner perks up visibly, and she tells herself that it's not spoiling, it's rewarding him for good behavior, as he nods enthusiastically at her."Deal! What kinda tweat?"

"It will just have to be a surprise silly boy." Cricket says, bopping him on the node playfully. Everyone finishes their meals in good humour after that, listening to the toddler chatter and giggle in the background, between his own bites of food.

Once everyone had finished their own breakfast, Cricket made a quick trip upstairs to grab a belt and one of her knives, as well as a small pouch of coins Nori appropriated for her in the troll cave. After securing both to the belt now around her waist, she locks the door back and heads down the stairs to see Kili holding Conner, and Fili being handed a list by Balin. As they finish talking Balin turns and heads up the stairs, nodding at her as they pass each other. Cricket nods back and stops in front of her little group, ready to get going.

"Ok guys, where do you want to start?"

"Probably the shoemaker."Fili says to her after giving the list a quick look over."Conner can't run around everywhere barefoot, and if they don't already have any, we can get him fitted for boots and some plain leather shoes. After that we can go ahead to the tailors, and get the two longest lasting chores out of the way."

"Sounds like a plan. Hopefully we can get him some shoes today at least, so we don't have to carry him around all day. Even though he can't run off while we are holding him..."

"Which would be why my dear brother is holding him."Fili says smiling."Kee, are you two ready to go?"

"Yep, lead the way!" Kili says, Conner sitting on his shoulders with a big smile on his little face."Off to the shoemaker!"

"Yea, I needes boots!"

"That's right,boots and shoes and clothes!"

"Yea, and a tweat for being good!"

"Yea, but you have to be good first."Cricket tells him, and can't help but laugh at the two of them, excited and bouncing around like children(Which only one of them actually is), and takes it as a sign that it will be a good and productive day. And to be honest, it does start out that way.

The first stop goes by smoothly, with the shoemaker luckily having both boots and shoes already made in his size, both well made in a thick soft leather. After slipping the plain leather shoes on his ticklish feet, while Kili and Fili have theirs mended(Kili removing the now unneeded heighteners from his), they go ahead and have Conners boots sent back to the inn, thanking the shoemaker as they leave and heading to their next stop.

Conner was actually very happy with his new shoes, enjoying the sensation of the soft leather on his feet. Holding Crickets hand this time instead of being held, he would stomp and jump around in them, testing them out on the walk to the tailors, and she had to keep him from jumping in three puddles, as well as one small pile of poo. They all seemed to be followed by curious eyes wherever they went, and even had a couple of children trailing them at one point, hoping to get a good look at the few members of the company out and about.

The stop at the tailors ended up taking just as long as they thought it would. Cricket went first, only needing to be fitted for a long cold weather coat, as she still had all of her elvish traveling clothes. Once that was done, she helped to keep Conner still while the tailor took his measurements, hard as it turned out to be, as every time the measuring tape touched him he squirmed and giggled. Luckily the tailor was used to taking the measurements of hyper children, and was very patient with the two of them, even giving Conner a piece of soft candy to chew on when he was done. Conner sat on Crickets lap enjoying the candy while Kili and Fili took their turns, Kili making silly faces at Conner the entire time was up there, while Fili kept up a serious, princely expression, striking up a pose every time the tailor turned away.

She often had to stop and think, how these two ended up dubbing themselves her official protectors, when at times it seemed like she was babysitting them. Though, to be honest, she had came a long way since being dropped unconscious in front of the two of them. She had gone from a who collected sharp point objects for fun and had a backpack for an emergency that might not ever happen, stranded in a place where she didn't know anyone or anything, to a far more confidant woman who could now actually use those sharp pointy objects, and whose emergency backpack was actually a great help. Along with that, she now had some of the greatest friends in the world(this one or any other), one who considered her an adopted sister, a couple more dubious in their feelings about her, all of them prepared to fight for her as hard as she would for them. Not only that, but she now had a little one that relied on her for love and protection, to teach him right from wrong, to keep him safe from those who might harm him. It didn't matter that Conner wasn't actually hers, or that he wasn't even human. She loved him like he was, just as Conner did her, and she would protect him with everything she had, as long as she can, no questions asked.

The only problem was, that haunted her almost every night, what would happen to Conner if she was eventually sent home.

As all of this runs through her mind, she feels a gentle tug on her sleeve, and she looks down to see Conner staring at her, eyes wide and searching.

"Mama Cwicket, awe you ok? I was tugging fow a wong time."

She smiles reassuringly at him."Yes sweetie, just lost in my thoughts, sorry for worrying you."

"It's ok. You just wooked sad." He said, a serious look on the face of someone so young."Awe you sad?"

"No Conner, I'm not sad." She says, leaning down and putting her forehead gently to his."I'm just thinking about important things, things I really don't want to, but have to."

"Can I help?"

"Not yet, but thank you for asking. Did you need something?"

"Oh yea, Fili said he is awmost done, and you should tawk to the nice man who gave me candy."

She looked up and saw that the tailor was indeed done with Fili, so after asking Kili to watch Conner for a moment, she made her way to the front of the sore, where the tailor was making sure he had all the measurements done correctly. He looks up and sees her standing there patiently and gives her a toothy smile."Oh good. Since I have the the numbers, I need to know exactly what you need for yourself and the young boy." He walks her over to his material supply, and she starts digging through for ones that she likes.

"Well, Conner needs a good set of traveling gear, and the only clothes he has are on him now. He needs two shirts, two pairs of leggings, a pair of trousers, a belt, along with an over tunic, a regular by itself tunic, and a cold weather coat."

"How about I make most of it out of the same material I am using for the dwarves gear, and you pick out the colors for the shirts and leggings?"

"That works for me. I want his two shirts to be made out of this one, and the leggings out of this." She says, handing him a dark blue and a light bluish grey for the shirts, and a dark grey for the leggings. She also hands him a blue that matches Conners eyes for his regular tunic, which the tailor seems to very much approve of.

"Very nice, all colors that will match him well. Now, what about your coat? I have a couple of examples here if you would like to look through them."

She takes the pages from him and glances through, stopping at one she likes and showing it to him."I want this one, only with a hood added on, as well as a belt to keep it shut." She pulls out a soft rich brown she had found and fell in love with, and shows it to him."Can you make it out of this? It's beautiful, and so very warm."

He glances at it and pales a bit."That is a very expensive leather that the Master keeps in stock for his own use. He may not like me using it for someone other than himself."

"Well, he did say that the town would supply anything we need." she says, understanding his feelings."But here, so he can't get too upset, take this, and order some more when you can." She hands him 4 gold coins, and he looks astonished at it and nods.

"That will be more than enough, thank you miss! If you like, I will make the little ones coat out of the same thing."

"That would be great, thank you! Everyone here is being so kind to us, you have no idea what that means to the company. Do you have a lot of help here?"

"A couple, not too many. Why?"

She digs into the pouch and brings out two more coins."Here, you may want to hire a couple more to help you, the rest of the company will most likely be here to order from you as well. Unless there is another tailor in town?"

"Not as good as me, but I may ask if she wants to split the job a bit, me doing the heavy leather items while she does the lighter shirts and leggings, that way we can have your items ready when you need it."

"Smart idea, you don't want to overwork yourself. Will that be enough?"

"More than enough miss, you didn't need to give me any coins to hire people."

"I know, but I want you to be able to have the help you need, and I'm sure there are a couple of people who could use a job here that know what they are doing."

"Too true miss. It will be a great day when we can rebuild Dale, and return to the lives we held before the dragon attacked. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long."

"Hopefully not. Thank you for all of your help, and I will see you again very soon."

She heads back over to where Kili and Fili are sitting with Conner, both of them standing when they see her coming."Did you get everything settled?" Fili asks, pulling out the list Balin gave him as she once again pushes her bangs out of her face.

"Yep, colors and materials all chosen, even gave him a couple of coins to get him some help, that way he finishes everything in time. Are you two done here?"

"Yes, all that's left is to go by and give the various shopkeepers the list of things that Balin wants, which means we need to go into the main marketplace."

"Could...you hold on one moment?" Kili asks, holding Conners hand."I forgot to tell the tailor something."

"That's fine, do you want me to take Conner while you do?"

"No, I can take him with me. Be right back."

The two of them quickly turn and go back into the tailors, while Fili and her stand outside waiting for them. Cricket hears a noise behind her and glances back to see a small body hiding behind a building."I think we have a stalker." She says to Fili, and he glances over as well.

"We actually have a couple." He says back to her."Many of the children here are curious about us it seems. I suppose any time something new pops up it would be interesting to them."

"Maybe they have never seen a dwarf before?" Cricket suggests, and he shrugs at her.

"I'm not sure. Kee and I spent most of our lives in the Blue Mountains, and when we did get out it was too the towns close to us for trading. They probably havent, seeing as the dwarves of the Iron hills don't like coming this way often, and there has been no reason to go near the Lonely mountain until now."

"Should we tell them to stop?"

"I don't think so, they aren't causing us any trouble. Just investigating something interesting, like children tend to do."

"Oh boy, I'm interesting. That's what every girl loves to hear. Right after 'It's not me, it's you', and 'Can you hook me up with your sister'."

He gives her a strange look."I think you're very interesting, and that's a good thing. An interesting woman is far more fun than a boring woman, and you are far from boring. As well, any man who would choose your sister over you, when they know you, is a fool."

"That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me." She says, a bit surprised at how serious he sounds."Thank you, I needed that."

"You don't have to thank me, it's the truth." He says, though his cheeks turn a bit red."Males must be idiots where you come from."

"That they are my friend." She says as Kili and Conner come back out, conspiratorial looks on their faces."Did you get what you needed settled?"

"Yep, just needed to ask a question. Should we go?"

"Yes, lets get this done, then maybe we can head back and check on Bilbo. I know Cricket is worried about him."

"I am. He must have had a pretty bad fever to actually pass out from it. Lets go and get this taken care of."  
*

The market turns out to be not quite as bustling as she imagined, but still pretty busy. There were stalls up and down the long row of wood buildings, with vendors yelling out their wares, and a small man-made area with trees and flowers in the middle. Cricket notices the man that Bard gave the fish to when they arrived, and gives him a wave. He waves back with a big smile, his stall doing very well as people constantly stop and buy from him. There is a stall selling cheese and butter, as well as pies of all sorts and loaves of bread. There is a stall next to what looks like a blacksmithy, selling small knives and other metal items, as well as a stall selling all sorts of leather goods. There is a stall selling dried foods imported from the lands around them, like jerky and fruit. There is a stall selling wooden goods, such as childrens toys, boat oars, bowls and plates and cups, eating utensils and offering services to build furniture.

The stall that catches her eye, however, is a stall ran by a plump, merry looking woman, selling baked goodies such as muffins and cakes and cookies. She smiles, knowing she has found a good place to get Conner his treat, and turns to Fili and Kili."Why don't you two start going and asking the stallkeepers for what you need on the list, while I get Conner his treat and sit with him in that little flower filled area? He has been good enough for one, and those cookies smell amazing from where I'm standing."

"That's fine, go ahead and rest a bit. Kili and I can finish up the rest, then meet you there when we are done. Come one Kee."

"Just a moment Fee." Kili says."Meet you at the first stall, ok?" When Fili nods and starts towards the leather goods stall, Kili turns to her with a grin on his face."All right Conner, do you want to give her your gift now?"

"Oh, yes pwease!"

"Gift? What gift?"

"Conner wanted to get you something special, and I mentioned you might like this, so we went back inside the tailors and asked him for it." He pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to Conner, who in turn hands it to Cricket with a big smile.

"Fow you Mama Cwicket! Fow taking such good cawe of me, and to make you not be sad anymowe!" He holds out his hands to her, and from then she takes a long piece of embroidered, ivory-colored lace.

"Oh Conner, it's beautiful, thank you!" She cries, bending over and giving him a big hug."Why did you want to get it for me?"

"Your hair." Kili says, and Conner nods happily."Conner told me you kept having to push your hair out of your eyes, and that you were sad earlier in the tailors, so I suggested you might want something to help keep it out of your eyes. That, and a gift from him might make you happy again."

"Does it make you happy?" Conners asks seriously."I don't want you to be sad anymowe, it makes me sad."

"It makes me very happy Conner, thank you, thank both of you." She says, pulling Kili into a hug as well.

"Does that mean I can have a cookie too?"

"You can have three cookies."

Kili laughs and hugs her back, then turns to follow his brother to the leather goods stall, in very good spirits. Cricket places the lace in her pocket, to put into her hair as soon as she sits down, and looks down at Conner, his hand in hers."What do you say, do you think that cookies are a good treat? You have definitely been a good boy."

"I love cookies! I want lots and lots pwease!"

"Lets go see what all she has first, then go from there." Cricket says to him, then leads him over to the stall. It turns out she has chocolate chip, oatmeal and a gingersnap type cookie, and was very happy to sell to a member of the company of Thorin Oakenshield(her words exactly). Cricket ends up getting 6 of each, as well as 1 chocolate muffin and 1 cinnamon sugar muffin, as well as a bottle of warm lemonade to share with Conner, and takes it to the small park like area, sitting with her back against a tree and Conner half on the ground, half on her lap. She gives him a chocolate cookie, taking a gingersnap for herself, and enjoys watching the marketplace bustle with people, sitting around doing nothing. After she finishes her cookie, she takes the lace out of her pocket and examines it closely for a moment, touched that Conner wanted to get it for her to make her happy. Stopping herself from crying, she takes it and winds it once around her head, finally able to keep back her bangs, and ties it at the bottom right next to her feather.

As she does, she hears a noise to her right, and looks over to see a small boy and girl looking over at her, half hiding behind a tree."You don't have to be shy, you know. You can come say hi if you would like." She smiles gently at them, and it prompts them to come slowly closer, eyes wide and shining."Hello there, have you been following me all day?"

"Yes miss." The girl says, the boy nodding beside her."Are...are you really part of the company going up into the mountain?"

"I sure am. My name's Cricket, and this is Conner." Conner gives them a happy grin, mouth full of cookie, and the girl giggles at him.

"But, all of them look like warriors, miss. Why are you two traveling with them as well?"

"Do you want to know a secret?" Cricket says, and they both nod, two more children slowly walking up beside them, and she is sure there is another one she can't see at the moment."I'm a warrior too!"

The children all let out shocked gasps, and she leans back against the tree, pleased at their reaction."But miss, my father said women can't be warriors, they are meant to be wives, and take care of the children."

"Well, I'm a warrior, and I know plenty of other women fighters." She says to the young girl who asks, and all the children around her look extremely curious."Would you like to hear the story of the goblin mountain we were captured in, and how I had to cut my hair to escape?"

All the children nod, sitting around her in a packed circle, and after handing them all parts of cookies to nibble on, she shares the story of their capture, about the gruesome Goblin king, the orcs that chased them into trees, and finally ending on their escape on the back of eagles, leaving out no fight scene, elaborating by swinging her hands about wildly. She had always enjoyed entertaining children, and knew how to keep their interest when telling a story. It was proven in the way all the children reacted as she told it, gasping in horror at the right times, cheering when a foe was defeated, feeling bad for her when her hair had to be cut to escape from the dying goblin king. By the time she was finished, all of them were gripping either something or someone tightly.

"You see this feather in my hair?"She says to them as she ends the story."The Lord of the eagles gave it to me in friendship, and said that if I ever needed their help, all I had to do was blow on it. Still think that women can't be warriors?"

"No miss!" Almost all of the children yell, energized from the story, as well as Conner, who hadn't been there for it and was just as amazed by it as they were. One of the little boys hands her a white flower shyly, and she takes it softly from him, placing it in her hair. The boys looks extremely happy that she does, and the rest of the children, noticing this, jump up and begin to run around grabbing flowers.

"What are you doing?" Cricket asks, watching them with an amused look on her face.

"A great warrior like you deserves a crown!" A little girl informs her, and indeed, as she watches, the children all band their flowers together, weaving them to form a flower crown, walking over to her with it once they complete it. Smiling, she leans down and lets them place it on her head, and as she leans back up the other children cheer and start jumping up and down around her, causing Conner to get excited as well and jump up and down with them.

"Looks like you made some friends." A voice behind her says, and she looks over to see Kili and Fili looking at her, amusement all over their faces. The children notice them standing there and run over to question them excitedly.

"Did you really escape on eagles?"

"Are you princes?"

"Did you kill lots of goblins?"

"Can I see your sword?"

"Aren't you a little tall for a dwarf?"

Cricket laughs as they are bombarded by the curious children, shrugging when they look at her, mouths agape."All right, that's enough questions for today." She says, causing the children to sigh and back off."We will be here for a couple of days, so you will have plenty of time to ask them questions later. If you want, I will come back tomorrow and tell another story, same time as today. Does that sound like a deal to you?"

"Yes Miss!" They yell happily, and all run off to wherever they had came from, eager to tell their parents about the warrior woman in the dwarves company. Cricket shakes her head and stands up, picking up the remains of her baked goods, then facing the princes.

"Did you get everything done?"

"Yes, they should have us everything we need by the time we leave. What was all that about, asking us about the eagles and goblins?"

"They came up to me a few at a time while I was sitting with Conner, curious about us, and I thought I might tell them a little story about our exploits so far. I didn't think that many children had been tailing us, but by the time I finished my story they were all there. It's wonderful how no matter where you are, children will always appreciate a good story."

"And the flower crown?"

"They said that a great warrior deserved a crown, so they weaved me one out of flowers. I think it's sweet to tell you the truth."

"Is that why Conner has one as well?" She glances over at him, and sure enough Conner has a flower crown as well.

"He just looks cute in it."

Both of them shake their head at her."You know, everyone is going to have a cow when they see that on your head." Fili says with a smile and a strange gleam in his eye."Especially Dwalin."

"Why? For cripes sake, it's just a bunch of flowers, what harm could they do?"

"With our people, one of the stages of courting is offering the female a crown of flowers, usually roses, but other types aren't unheard of."

"Basically, to them it will look like you accepted a courtship from someone without letting them know." Kili says to her with a grin.

"Oh, whatever. I'm not taking it off, and they should know better to think that. Come on, let's head back, I want to check on Bilbo."She takes Conners hand and walks towards the inn, both of the princes laughing to themselves and following behind her.  
*

The rest of the company is up and about when they get back, and though she does get a couple of questions about her flower crown after all, she tells them where she actually got it and they seem to back off, though Nori does tease her about it a little longer. Eventually, after grabbing Conner's boots and putting them in her room, she does take it off and set it on the table next to her bed so it doesn't get messed up. Conners is already missing a couple of flowers so she isn't too worried about it, and after asking Dori if he can watch him for a couple of minutes, she heads up to the third floor to check on Bilbo.

Opening the door up a crack to see who it is, Oin sees her standing there and opens the door the rest of the way, tired smile on his face. Walking in the room, she sees Bilbo sitting up in bed with a bowl of soup on the table next to him, and Thorin in an arm chair next to the bed. Bilbos face lights up a bit when he sees her, but it is cut short by a wet sounding cough.

"He has been doing that since he woke up." Oin tells her, pouring a packet of powder into the soup."His fever is still up there as well, and he is spitting up green and yellow mucus all morning."

"But that's good, isn't it? Doesn't that all the stuff in his lungs is breaking up and finally coming out? I know that was always considered a good thing when I got sick."

"It is, the problem is keeping his fever down now, as well as getting food into him. He won't be able to get anything solid into him for a couple of days, so we have a pot of soup on standby in the kitchens."

"I have a cold compress if that will help." She says, holding up the compress she took out of her emergency kit while in her room."All you do is shake it and put it to your forehead, and it instantly provides cold to the affected area. It's really for injuries, but it should help keep his fever down I think."

"Show me." Oin says, and both Thorin and Oin watch her, frowns on their faces as she opens the packet up and shakes it, then places it against Bilbo's forehead. The moment it touches, Bilbo sighs in relief, feeling the cool immediately.

"That feels amazing." Bilbo croaks to the three of them, and she takes it off for Oin to examine.

"I have about four more of them, but this one should last the rest of the day if you keep shaking it. I would let him lie down after finishing his soup, then put this back on his forehead to see if it makes a difference."

"Thank you." Thorin says to her, looking extremely grateful as Bilbo slowly starts spooning soup into his mouth, along with Oin's little extra whatever it was."He worried me when he passed out." His face then takes on a look that reminds her a lot of Kili."I heard you came back with a flower crown."

"Yes, from the children. No, I haven't accepted a courtship from anyone. Did they tell you that part as well?"

"Yes, and they also told me you were telling a story about us in the marketplace. You have a way with children it seems."

"Kids have always liked me. I can be around a baby a couple of minutes and it usually starts smiling at me. It comes in handy when you have to calm down an entire group of hyper kids."

"It's a good talent to have." Thorin says with a small smile, looking over at Bilbo."It means you will make a good mother someday."

She leans in closer so that Oin can't hear them, and says softly to him."And you and Bilbo...how are you two doing?" She says, winking at his shocked face."Come on now, who do you think finally convinced him to finally come clean to you about how he felt? You two have been making secret googly eyes at each other almost this entire trip. I was halfway convinced I needed to lock the two of you in a room until you both finally admitted your feelings to each other."

He shakes his head at her, still not quite believing what she is saying."If that is true, then I owe you another thanks it seems. It can be hard for me to express the way I feel...and with Bilbo making the first move, it broke down a wall for me, making it easier for me to do the same."

"Does anyone else know how you feel yet?"

"Balin might, but I'm not sure. I would like to wait until the quest is over and court him properly if I can, but until then...I don't know. I'm not sure if hobbits have any special courting rituals, or if he even wants to be courted by me, being royalty and all."

"Will you not need to marry and have a child?"

"No. Fili is my heir, so I have no need to have another one."

"Well, that's good at least. Why don't you ask Bilbo about hobbit courting, that way you don't accidentally insult him if he tries one with you, and go from there, maybe tell him about a couple of yours as well? You can find out if he actually wants you to court him that way."

"I..may do that. That way I can relieve some of my worries."

"Besides, I hate to say it, but if Smaug is still alive, there is a chance none of us will make it out of the mountain. Wouldn't you rather let him know before hand, just in case?" Thorin goes silent, looking off into the distance, and she sees she has made her point."Just an idea. None of really know what will happen once we make it there, so it might be better to go ahead and let him know." She stands up and places a hand on his shoulder."I'll come by later to check on the two of you."

Bilbo is already slipping into sleep as she goes to leave, Oin placing the compress on his forehead, so she leaves without bothering to say goodbye to him, heading downstairs to find some food.

Only about half of the company are there when she makes it to the dining hall, many of them having gone to the tailor as well for there own fittings. She goes to sit next to Dori and Conner, grabbing what looks like a plate of venison for her own meal. Dori had finally taken the flower crown off of Conner, with only a few petals littering his hair now, and it looked like he was about ready for a nap."Did you have any trouble with him?" She asked Dori as she started in on her food."I know he can be very hyper at times."

"Not at all. I'm quite used to hyperactive little ones. You wouldn't know from looking at him, but Ori was quite the rascal himself, and I helped to raise him. Not only that, but you have met Nori..he is still like that at times."

"You have a very good point there." She says with a laugh."Well, anyway, thank you for watching him for me, I didn't think Bilbo needed the added stress of a a bouncy toddler along with him being sick. All he needs to do right now is focus on rest and healing up. It looks like Conner could use some rest himself, now that I'm back."

"Aye, he could. Once you went up to check on Bilbo, he ran around for a bit before deciding he was hungry, then proceeded to eat until he was stuffed. The mix of a full belly and energy crash finally got to him, I suppose."

"I think it has a lot to do with the change, honestly. He hasn't kept this form up for this long before, and while it's good training, it means he needs a lot more food for energy while he is getting used to it. The good news is that once he is finally used to it, he should be able to keep it up with less and less energy, in case we end up some place where there isn't a lot of food on hand." Dori nods in agreement, and they both hear a soft snore from his side. Looking over they both smile at the sight of Conner fast asleep with his head on the table, a loaf of bread inadvertently ending up as his pillow.

"Poor lad, guess he was farther along than I thought."

"Yea. I guess I will take him up to the room and finish my meal later, I don't like leaving him alone, in case he accidentally switches forms, or pops up with horns."

"You go ahead and grab your plate, and I'll carry him to your room if you like." Says a voice from behind them, and she turns around to see Dwalin standing behind her, back from his trip into town.

"That would be great, thank you." She says to him."Thank you again for watching him for me Dori."

"No problem lass, try and get a nap yourself, you look a bit peaked a well."

"I will." After throwing a couple more food items on her plate and picking it up, Dwalin gently picking up the sleeping Conner, they both head up to her room, Dwalin looking around suspiciously like he believes someone will jump out at them. Once the door is unlocked she heads in and places her plate on the table, while Dwalin places Conner on the bed. Once they are sure he isn't going to wake back up, they both sigh in relief and face each other.

"What's the matter Dwalin, you keeping looking around like you expect someone to jump you. Thanks for carrying Conner by the way."

"I don't know, I guess I'm not used to people being so happy and excited to see us. I keep expecting to be thrown back in jail for something or another. It's unnerving to say the least."

"Nah, the Master is too excited about the prospect of gold to throw you in jail. Not only that, everyone hopes to be able to rebuild their own home again. That alone keeps you guys safe."

"I suppose you're right." His face hardens a bit."Have you seen that weasely little man again? The one who kept leering at you?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure I will have to at some point."

"Stay away from him if you can, I don't trust him further than I can throw him, and I can throw him a long way."

"Dualy noted, I dont want him near me."

"By the way..." He says perking up a little."I did a little asking around, and the soldiers said we can use the training grounds to spar a bit if we like. I haven't had a good one since we left the skinchangers house, and you promised me one."

"That..actually sounds really good, I could use a good training session myself. That, and even though I can't do too much, I'd like to show you some of how I have improved since the palace. How about we get Kili and Fili to come as well, keep them out of trouble?"

"It's a plan, I'll tell them they have to to keep from getting rusty. We'll all leave for the training grounds tomorrow morning as soon as we finish breakfast, and have ourselves a good old fashioned brawl. Maybe the little weasel will show up and see what you can do to him if he tries anything."

"Heh, I might even try and make sure he does. I will probably have Conner sit on the sidelines while we do, that way I can keep an eye on him and still have a bit of distance while we touch on the bond."

"Why don't you let me get the boy a little wooden sword of his own, and he can play fight with one of the lads while we spar? It might not hurt for him to eventually learn as well, that way he can defend himself no matter what form he takes."

"How old are dwarflings when you start training them?"

"Around his age, though nothing big, and nothing that will get him injured. He will probably enjoy it, and it will give him an outlet for some of that hyperness he has."

"Ok then, deal. I trust you to not try and teach him anything he isn't ready for, and you're right, it will probably be good for him."

"Great!" He says, smile lighting up his usually gruff face."About time I get to do something productive, I hate sitting around doing nothing, twiddling my thumbs. Finally some action!"

_Anyone catch the star wars reference? Find it and you win a prize._


	22. Stupid fight

After a hearty breakfast and much grumbling from the princes about having to go, they all arrived at the training grounds bright and early the next morning, much to the surprise of the few soldiers already there, The only stipulation Cricket had was that they finish in time for her to head to the marketplace for storytime with the children, which they all readily agreed to. They even said they might tag along with her if it meant they got cookies(Dwalin had a big sweet tooth).

Cricket took it as a oppurtunity to change out of her dress and back into part of her traveling clothes again, which she was beginning to miss. Strapping her sword belts on over her elf pants and boots, as well as her own loose peasant blouse, she felt more like herself than she had in a couple of weeks.

Conner was just as ready as her to be there, as he had gotten to used to her sparring every morning with Legolas, so that they both could practice drawing on their bond and getting more used to their was going to be a bit different as he was used to being in his tattoo form when she sparred, but they needed to practice with him off of her as well, and with them being in a strange place they didn't need to take the chance that someone might see him changing. Therefore he would be sitting on the sidelines while Cricket sparred, still connected to her but not physically touching her.

Dwalin told her the night before that he was having a toy sword made for Conner, and that it would be ready for him in a few days. For now, he could watch and learn from them during their sessions. Conner couldn't wait he was so excited to have his own sword, and had ran around all night during dinner pretending that a spoon was a sword, poking various members of the company with it before running away laughing, whatever dwarf he ended up poking shaking their head and laughing as well. It was all good fun until Conner accidently ended up poking Bombur in a very sensitive lower area, prompting him to chase Conner around the table once he got his breath back, while everyone else roared with laughter at the sight of the plump dwarf trying to catch the nimble toddler.

Eventually Conner ended up hiding behind Thorin, who had came down for dinner while Bilbo was asleep, causing Bombur to stop in his tracks as Thorin stares at him, one eyebrow raised. Bombur grumbled all the way back to his seat, where Bifur slapped him on the back good naturedly, signing for him to calm down, he should know better than anyone what mischief children get into. Thorin then turned to Conner, amused look on his face.

"Here little one, you better hand over that spoon before you do any more damage. I'm not sure Bombur could survive another hit like that."

Conner bashfully handed him over the spoon."I'm sowwy Mista Thowin. I didn't mean to hurwt him."

"It's ok, just be careful where you aim next time." Thorin said, smiling at him(A rare event indeed). Conner nodded slowly, and Thorin hands him a piece of sliced creme cake to cheer him up."Go back to Cricket now, and tell her I said you could have this piece for being nice and apologizing."

"Tank you Mista Thowin!"Conner exclaimed before running back to Cricket, cake slice held between both hands. Thorin sat there with a smile on his face watching Conner run back until he noticed Dwalin smirking at him, and promptly switched back to his usual stoic look.

Cricket smiles to herself as they walk into the training grounds, the memory still fresh in her mind. It showed just how comfortable the company was around Conner, despite knowing he was a dragon in another form. Maybe it was because he was a baby, and they had known him since he had hatched. Maybe it was because he had been nothing but innocent and sweet since he had hatched, and maybe it was because of their peoples feelings towards children. Whatever it was, they all treated him like a member of the company, albeit a mini member, and that made her extremely happy, as well her job of protecting him a lot easier.

There were only four soldiers there when they entered, one at the shooting range practicing with a bow and three in a corner just talking for now, but they do glance over at them when they notice them entering, a frown on the face of one of them. Cricket and the others go straight to the side and after sitting Conner down on a bench begin stretching. Conner is kept occupied for now by playing with his toy bow and arrow set given to him by Legolas, as well as a toy dragon Kili got from somewhere, which the princes both thought was pretty funny. About halfway through their stretch, a pair of boots comes into Crickets view and stays there.

"Hey you, girl."

Cricket looks up to see one of the men from the corner looking down at her, the one who had frowned when he looked over at her coming in. His tone was arrogant, and she proceeds to ignore him and continue her stretches. Behind her, Fili and Kili exchange glances with Dwalin but for the time being do nothing.

"Excuse me girl, I'm trying to talk to you."

"And I'm ignoring you. Funny world huh."

His two friends walk up behind him as he glares at her, while she continues to stretch out her back. Kili and Fili stop stretching but stay in place, while Dwalin glances over at the man and grunts, not seeing him as a threat.

"What do you think you're doing here?"

"Last time I checked, I was stretching."

"Don't be smart."

"Someone has to be."

"What I'm asking is why are you here instead of at home where you belong, taking care of the kid over there." He says, pointing at Conner."You have no right to be here in a mans territory, in your betters territory, instead of making food or cleaning the house, and you need to leave now and give back those swords to whoever you stole them from!"

That causes even Dwalin to stop what he is doing and look over at the brash young soldier. Stop, and give him a look that even Thorin would back away from. The man however doesn't know any better and looks right back at him, while Kili and Fili stand up behind Dwalin and prepare to jump the soldiers any minute if they need to back Dwalin up.

Cricket though...Cricket was that special kind of person that when you made them angry, truly angry, instead of yelling at you and showing it, they smiled calmly and acted like it was no big deal. And then the next day you would wake up to everything in your room painted a garish bright pink or black, including your computer, your clothes, your shoes...everything. Or would go out on date, only to find out that every person you ever cheated on was there instead waiting for you. Or would replace your lubricant with icy hot so you would get a burning surprise.

Namely, the kind of person you should apologize and run for your lives from. Lucky for the company, the time she had yelled at all of them on the shore, she hadn't been to that level of anger.

The soldier wasn't lucky enough to know that, or smart enough to figure it out. Dwalin was, and had complete faith that she would be able to handle herself in this situation, which was why he hadn't yet made a move, but was prepared to just in case. Kili and Fili didn't know what was going to happen, but could literally feel the tension between the two and were ready for anything. Conner watched it all with interest, as he could sense through the bond that Cricket was pissed, but he could also sense she had her anger under control, so wasn't that worried. That control was one of the main reasons that Galadriel knew she would be an excellent Dragons bondmate. Anger issues usually passed on to the dragons through the bond, or vice-versa, and no one wanted a dragonknight with anger issues.

Cricket stops stretching finally and stands slowly, facing the soldier with a deceptively calm look on her face, but fire in her eyes."What's your name?"

"Monty."

"Well Monty, explain something to me please. What exactly makes you my better? I assume you were talking about yourself."

"Isn't is obvious?" Monty asks, a smug look on his face, not seeing the hole he is digging."I'm a man. And a soldier. Stronger than you, and made to provide for the weaker sex. Again, you." His companions nod in agreement, and she can hear Dwalin growling softly behind her.

"And that means that these swords couldn't possibly belong to me, and I don't belong here, according to that logic. Right?"

"I'm glad you finally seem to understand." He says with a smile, thinking he's won."Why don't you take the child and go back home to your man. Unless you don't have one, then I will gladly offer my services, as your friends don't look up to the task."

She walks slowly up to him, smile on her face as more soldiers start entering the training grounds, and she can hear Dwalin holding Kili and Fili back a bit, both not happy with Monty's words. Monty grins, thinking she has accepted his offer, and glances back at his friends for a moment before looking back at her, finally noticing the gleam in her eyes.

"Listen to me, you arrogant, dense prick." She says, voice low and level and completely frightening."For one thing, the guys behind me are more of a man then you could ever dream of being, and I'm including the toddler sitting over there in that fact. For another, I wouldn't touch you if I was wearing a hasmat suit, as you stink and have a unibrow."

Kili and Fili snort quietly behind her as Monty gapes, while Dwalin stands there with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, proud of her as she presses on.

"What kind of man goes around thinking he can tell people what their place is? So you're a soldier, big whoop, you can hopefully swing a sword and threaten people. In case you haven't noticed these two swords are mine, not stolen from anyone, and I'm pretty sure I can kick your ass with them, even with me being the 'weaker sex' as you put it. Hell, I'm pretty sure I can beat you without them. And I don't need a man to ask permission to do so."

Monty looks outraged at her words and his face goes red, sputtering as he tries to respond."What...I...how dare you!"

"Easily. And I don't dare, I do. I'll take you on anytime." Their words have drawn a small crowd of soldiers, all wondering what is going on, just knowing that one of their own is being challenged by a woman accompanied by dwarves from the company the Master allowed in.

"Well, it;s a good thing a gentleman never hits a lady...in public."

"Even more of a good thing you aren't a gentleman then, huh?"

"You little bitch! You want to fight me, fine! I'll just tell the Master you egged me on when they bring you bleeding into the healers quarter!"

"Actually you won't." Says a voice from behind the soldiers, and Cricket doesn't have to look to know who it is, recognizing the oily tone that makes her shudder in distaste, and even Dwalin looks pissed to hear it."Considering I've heard most of the conversation, and there are several other witnesses who saw you start it, I'm fairly sure the Master would know whom to blame. But please, do go on, I'm sure everyone would love to hear about the fight you started with an important member of the company of Thorin Oakenshield, whom the Master ordered to be allowed anywhere in the town..."

Monty pales a bit when he hears who she is, and Cricket takes the moment to interupt."Glad you agree to a fight. How about now, swords, first blood or surrender wins. Is that ok with you? I'd like to assume you can use that thing, and it isn't just there for show."

"Fine." Monty says curtly after a couple of seconds, nodding after glancing at Alfrid for an ok."But O'm not holding back. Someone has to teach you some manners, and your place."

"I'm sure someone will teach me something along those lines someday, but it certainly won't be you."

Monty growls and turns to his friends to prepare himself, going over to where they were keeping their equipment. Cricket shakes her head and turns to face Dwalin, Kili and Fili while everyone else gathers around the area where they will fight, ready to see what she can do. Alfrid sits himself across from where they are standing, and she isn't quite sure if he wants her to win or lose.

"Are you sure about this?" Fili quietly asks her as she makes sure her belts are secure around her waist."He's pretty pissed. and big."

"The anger will make him sloppy." Dwalin comments from beside her, keeping an eye on Monty as she prepares."And being large has nothing to do with his skill. She's practiced enough with both of us to be able to dodge any of his attacks no problem." Fili nods, but doesn't look convinced.

"I'm more worried about if he cheats."Kili says, sitting himself next to Conner.

"Guys, I'll be fine. And don't misunderstand, I'm pissed too. I'm just better at handling it than him."  
They all nod and clap her on the back, wishing her luck, and she turns around to walk to the center and meet Monty.

"Give him hell!" Kili cheers from the sidelines, and a couple of soldiers join in the cheering, most likely not liking Monty very well either.

"Yea, give em hell Mama Cwicket!" Conner repeats happily, and several soldiers laugh as Kili goes red and claps a hand over Conners mouth, Fili and Dwalin smothering laughs of their own. Cricket laughs silently, sobering as she feels Conner gently touching on the bond, letting her know he is right there with her. She can feel Alfrids gaze on her as she walks, and barely suppresses a shiver of distaste.

Monty is waiting for her in the center of the crowd, tapping his foot impatiently with a grimace. She stops ten feet away from him, hand on sword, taking a relaxed stance.

"So are the rules acceptable to you then? First blood wins?"

"Or surrender, yes. Not that I'm going to, but you will want the chance to before things get too ugly. I'd hate to cut up that pretty face of yours."

"Kinda hard to stop things from being ugly without you leaving." Cricket says with a smirk, and his face turns beet red."Are you ready?"

"Im ready, you little..."

As soon as the word ready leaves his mouth she strikes, whipping out her shortsword and nicking his hand, sheathing it back as blood begins to well.

"I win."

Everyone around them is silent as they try to process what just happened. Monty gapes at her like a fish out of water, looking around and wiping the blood on his trousers and glaring at her."Doesn't count."Dwalin and the others boo at him as the soldiers murmer among themselves, their distaste at his statement evident, his companions agreeing with him, but only barely.

"Pretty sure the stipulation was first blood, which I just achieved."

"I wasn't ready you cow!"

"I guess I was hearing things when you said you were ready, my bad."

"I did say it, but you can't just attack as soon as it comes out of my mouth!"

"Why not?"

"You...you have to give me a moment to prepare myself! To get into position!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had to stop and wait in a fight for the other person to get ready, I thought that's what the words 'I'm ready' meant. You need to specify special rules like that."

A couple of the soldiers snigger at that, along with Dwalin, while Monty stares daggers at her."Again, right this time."

"Fine, whatever you sore loser." She says, still in her relaxed stance."Ready?"

"Ready." Monty says, and this time she waits for him to make the first moves, so he can't dry foul again. He stands there for a moment, narrowing his eyes at her, before pulling out his sword and rushing her seconds later.

She sidesteps his first swing, pulling out one of her swords as he passes and rapping him on the ass before jumping back. He bellows in rage and turns around, murder in his eyes as he circles her before rushing again, only to be sidestepped once again. This time as he turns around he raises his sword and swings it high, aiming for her upper body. She ducks it and blocks, stepping back as he tries again, only at her lower body this time. She blocks it again, forcing him back and jumping as he tries to kick her feet out from under her.

"Stay still so I can hit you!" He yells as the soldiers around them cheer for her.

"Um.. how about no?" she retorts as she parries another one of his blows, just missing his hand for another first blood as he steps back."Pretty sure the point is to not let you hit me."

He swings for her middle body this time, putting his entire body into it, and she goes into a roll, coming up behind him and staying low as she kicks his own feet out from under him, then nicks his face the moment he hits the ground. He groans and opens his eyes to see her sword at his neck, and her looking down at him.

"I win. and you can't argue it this time, I followed the rules, let you move first, and have plenty of witnesses to say so. Game, set, match."

As the spectators cheer at her victory, she sheathes her sword, then offers him a hand up. Ever the sore loser he slaps her hand away and pushes himself up, shoving his way through the crowd so he can leave, cursing the entire time. She briefly catches Alfrids eye and smiles when she notices he looks a bit shaken, which to her was a very good thing. Maybe she scared him away.

"Nice job." Dwalin said to her once the crowd had dwindled away and all the soldiers had complemented her on a well fought match."You got it done fast, and actually beat him twice. He'll think twice before doing that again."

"Probably not, but we can hope so." She replies, sitting down next to Conner and getting a drink of water."As to finishing it up fast...what can I say. Between you, Fili and Legolas, I'm used to sparring with a much better class of fighter. He was just dumb, pissed and cocky."

"Aye, that he was, and you handled him perfectly. I'm proud of you lass."

"Thanks Dwalin. And thank you for not butting in when he came up."

"I knew you could handle yourself lass. A lot of the company don't give you the credit you deserve when it comes to certain things, they see you as a damsel as distress no matter what the situation is, but I know better. There are still certain things that you will need help with, but you are perfectly capable of protecting yourself and Conner if need be, and aren't the type to thrust yourself into stupid situations you know you can't handle. Maybe someday you will rub off on the lads, they could use a bit of common sense. Anyway...what I'm trying to say is...I couldn't ask for a better person to join our cause, and I'm glad I got the chance to train you. And if anyone ever hurts you I'll take my hammer and shove it where the sun don't shine. And that will be the last step."

"Oh Dwalin, I'm all teary now." She says, and he snorts at her."Thank you for putting so much faith in me though, I couldn't have made it this far without you training me."

"You're welcome." He says, smiling a rare natural smile at her, and she gives him a one-armed hug.

"Mama Cwicket, dat was reawwly good!" Conner says next to her."You kicked his butt!"

"Technically I rapped his butt, but thanks." She laughs.

"That was great!" Kili said laughing."He was so pissed about that, and you made everyone laugh."

"Yea, you really knew how to press his buttons." Fili agreed, clapping her on the back.

"I know his type, that's all, and knew he would be easily egged on." She says to them all, then looks over at Dwalin."What do you say, are you ready for your turn?"

"You better believe it, now that you got your warm-up in! Kili, Fili, you watch the lad while we spar and keep an eye out for mr. Unibrow in case he comes back, then later we will switch out. Let's go!"  
*

By the time the afternoon rolls around and they finish, they are all well worn out, but in a good way. Even Conner, who had spent half the sparring time running around the grounds with whoever wasn't sparring at his heels, pretending to shoot everything with his bow. Dwalin was very impressed with all the progress she had made once she had what he considered a real opponent,and was eager to get back on the road so he could she what Conner and her combined could really do, so he could see the tricks they had learned. Fili was as well, but amazingly enough he was interested in an academic point of view, as he was chronicling all of Conner's progress so far since he had hatched and was comparing it with the notes in the journals, seeing how far he could make it without a knowledgable teacher. It was kinda nice knowing someone was interested in that part of Conner's training, so she could have someone to talk about it on the road with.

The afternoon went smoothly, after the whole arrogant soldier incident. Dwalin and the others followed her to the marketplace, where after buying enough cookies for everyone(this time getting a discount since they were known), they all sat down in the clearing with her and listened as she told the now larger group of children the story about their encounter with the cave trolls. Kili and Fili each ended up with a small child on their lap, Conner staying in hers, while Dwalin hovered in the background as a fierce bodyguard, munching on cookies the entire time. When the children weren't enraptured by Crickets story, they would sneaked wondered glances at the tattooed dwarf. He didn't seem to mind though, and would occasionally wink at them, causing them to giggle and look back at Cricket.

Storytime ended much like last time, with the children running around excitedly, pretending to be dwarves and hobbits and trolls, with one brave little boy standing next to Dwalin and crossing his arms, saying that he was going to be him, before Cricket and her group took their leave. She once again promised to try and come back the next day, and they all scattered back to their homes. At least none of them ended up with flower crowns this time, though Conner did hand her a tiny flower as they started to walk back to the inn, little sweetie that he was.

They all went straight to the dining hall as soon as they returned, having smelled freshly cooked bread and fish and feeling their stomachs growl in protest. Once everyone had fixed a plate and sat down to eat, Dwalin started telling how their day went to everyone actually at the table, causing them all to laugh heartily and congratulate her on a job well done. She thanked all of them between bites, while Conner stuffed himself silly with his favorite food in the world. By the time Cricket actually finished her own meal, however, Conner was leaning against her, sound asleep, spent from the mornings activities.

Excusing herself from the table and asking for a bath to be drawn in her room, she carries Conner up the stairs and back into their bedroom, where she gingerly places him in bed to ensure he stays asleep. Ten minutes later she slowly sits herself down in the bath, letting the warm water do its magic on her muscles, even going as far as to use some of her remaining shampoo and body wash, as she had been very sparing with it since she arrived and wanted to make it last as long as she could. Luckily some of the places she had stayed had bath things of their own, and she didn't have to use hers, but while she was on the road it was all she had. She stays in the water until her fingers are pruned and wrinkly, and thinks of home a bit. Even back there, baths had been her favorite way to relax, and if not baths then a drive with music blaring and the windows down. She couldn't exactly drive here though, so baths would have to do. Considering once they left Laketown there wouldn't be another chance to take one, she was going to enjoy them here. The only thing missing was a lit scented candle and a glass of wine.

Once she has dired off and pulled her dress back on, she goes through her bag, making sure nothing is ripped, empty or broken, before repacking it all to make sure she had plenty of room. She had expected to pack all of Conners new things in with hers, but Fili had apparently asked to have a bag made for him to keep his things in, in case he wanted to stay in human form. It was a sweet gesture, but someone would still have to hold it while he was in one of his other forms, and he was still a bit too small to carry it while in dragon form, though he had grown a lot. Therefore she was making plenty of room in her own bag.

A quiet knock on the door startles her, and she goes to open it, confused about who could need her when most of the company knew that Conner would be napping, and her along with him. Glancing over to make sure the knock didn't wake him up, she quietly unlocks the door and peeks outside, surprised when she sees who it is.

Bofur is standing outside the door, hands in his pockets and looking like he might bolt any minute. He gives her a strained smile very unlike his normal one when he sees her, and she has to smack down the urge to slam the door in his face from seeing him there, and the bad feelings that pop up.

"Bofur..what do you want?"

"Well...umm...might I come in? I know the lads asleep, but I need to talk to you."

"Are you going to insult me again?"

He blushes a deep crimson, but doesn't look away like he has been doing since they escaped."I deserve that. No lass, I'm not going to be rude to you or insult you."

"Fine." She says after a moment."You can come in, but be quiet please."

"I will." He says, walking into the room once she opens the door wider and steps aside for him to get by. Once inside, he watches as she closes the door back, then goes over to Conner to cover him with a thin blanket before coming back over and sitting down, gesturing for him to do the same, face almost as impassive as Thorins, except for the turmoil in her eyes. It burnt him up inside that he was the reason for that turmoil, that he let Thranduil mess with his mind like that, just to try and convince Conner and Cricket to stay there with him. He was bound and determined to fix what he had broken between them, even without Nori's meddling.

He was just scared to do it, and honestly surprised he had gathered up enough courage to be here now. He knew she was going to be pissed at him, and sad as well. Hell, he may even still get his ass kicked by the company, if she didn't do it herself. But that didn't matter.

What mattered was that she know the truth, so that they could try and somewhat mend the rift between them. So that she could heal from his cruel, false words. Even if they didn't go back to the way things were that night, or even to the way things were between them on the road, if they could be something other than what they were now it would be worth it.

"You said you wanted to talk, right? So start talking."

Bofur blushes as he realizes he had just been staring at her without speaking, making her uncomfortable."I'm sorry lass, I just got caught up in my thoughts."

"It's fine, just say what you came here to say."

He nods, face serious."All right, but I need you to promise me you won't say anything until after I've finished what I need to, else I may not have the nerve to finish."

"I...ok." She says, nodding her agreement as she sees how much he actually means his statement. He breathes a sigh of relief before delving into his story and explanation.

"All right. It all started in Thranduils palace, when he called me into his throne room for a second time, right after you woke up..."  
*

Cricket listened to his story with a blank expression, though her eyes betrayed her whenever something hit her particularly hard. He hated it, but he dove through his story the best he could, finally ending where he had said the terrible things to her in the cell. Her eyes were glassy when he finished, and he couldn't tell what exactly she was feeling. Two minutes later she finally spoke up, her voice one again in that deceptively calm tone from earlier in the training grounds.

"Let me get this straight. Because Thranduil told you all of those things, you took it upon yourself to try and keep me from continuing the quest with you, even telling Bilbo that I wouldn't be leaving with you?"

"I..uh...yes. I know it was wrong of me, and I'm ever so sorry. It burnt me up inside knowing I said those things to you. Thranduil was just so convincing sounding and honest when he spoke, I didn't stop to think why he was telling me all of this."

"And you didn't stop to think what I might have wanted? You didn't stop to think, maybe I should tell her what Thranduil just told me and see what she thinks?"

"You took it upon yourself to say the most horrible things ever, to act like a complete and utter asshole to me, after sharing something so intimate with me, then acting like it was no big deal? Fuck Bofur, we nearly...Fuck!" She says quietly, trying not to wake up Conner.

"I..know it was wrong of me.."

"Yes, Bofur, it was wrong of you! Even if you had told me what Thranduil had said, I still would have come with you! Fuck, I've been in danger nearly the entire time I have been here, along with knowing that I might not ever back, and I still came along! You had no right to make that decision for me! You aren't my father, and even he wouldn't be able to tell me what to do in this situation as I'm a grown fucking adult."

She is close to tears now, the sadness interfering with her ability to control her anger, and she just keeps on."Besides, I thought you didn't trust elves, so why on earth would you listen to anything he had to say? I know he can be convincing, but I also know bullshit when I hear it. I honestly thought you did too."

"I just wanted to protect you." He says sadly, and she almost feels pity for him.

"I know you did, but you went about it the most back-assed way possible. You took away a decision that should have been mine, you lied to me, you played with my emotions, all after telling me how long you had wanted to kiss me, after making me feel like I could trust you with anything, after making me want to tell you how strongly I felt about you. How the hell am I supposed to trust you now after all of that?"

"I don't know." He says, looking her in the eye."I honestly thought you were going to kick my ass after I told you, or throw me to the rest of the company. I just wanted to tell you the truth, let you know how sorry I was for all of this."

"I can tell how sorry you are, and I'm not going to kick your ass or have it kicked, though I should. I appreciate you telling the truth to me, but I think you need to leave now." She says tightly, standing up and pointing at the door."I need to think about all of this, and I can't have you around when I do."

"I understand." He says somberly, tears in his eyes as he walks towards the door and opens it. Before he walks out it he looks back at her"I want you to know everything I said back in your world...I meant it." He then walks out the door and down the stairs, and she rushes over to it and closes it quickly, turning around and resting her back against it as tears stream down her face.

She wanted so badly to accept his apology wholeheartedly, but there were some things you just couldn't forgive that quickly, especially with as bad as her heart hurt now. Looking over at Conner still sleeping on the bed she thinks quickly, and not wanting to let him see her crying and this upset, grasped a sword belt and tightened it around her waist, as well as a couple of other things, including the flask from Beorn, and quickly exits the room, locking it behind her.

Nori was in the dining hall eating an early dinner when he noticed Bofur coming out of Crickets room looking very upset. He watched as Bofur grabbed a couple of things from the table, including a bottle of wine, and stalked back to his room without talking to anyone. Bifur noticed and followed him to his room, obviously concerned for his cousin and intending to question him, which may or may not end up going badly.

Five minutes later he watched as Cricket exited her room, obviously very upset, and came down the stairs with her sword belt and what looked suspiciously like a flask attached to it. Once she made it down she went straight to Kili and handed him what looked like her key, having a short but serious conversation with him before she quickly exited the inn. Kili looked very confused and a little concerned, but went straight up to her room and unlocked it, going inside and leaving it cracked open.

Watching her leave the inn he put together what must have finally happened and jumps to his feet, ignoring the rest of his food and rushing out the door to follow her, knowing it can't be a good thing if she needs the whiskey brewed by Beorn, especially after seeing what happened to her last time. And last time she was in a good mood, no telling how she would react being depressed and pissed. He was going to have to follow her and make sure she didn't end up molested by one of the men here, like Alfrid. Or starting a fight and beating up everyone around her. Or just getting piss poor drunk in an alley somewhere, crying to herself when she needed someone with her.

Following closely behind her but staying unseen, he watches as she makes her way purposely through the town, ignoring the strange looks she is getting from wearing a dress that fine along with a sword, some knowing she is a member of the company, some recognizing her from the marketplace and the training grounds. Some even try to talk to her and ask if she is ok, but she waves them off, obviously not wanting to talk to any of them. That alone lets him know she isn't ok, as she is usually one of the most friendly and sociable people in the world, with a kind word for anyone she talks to. Tonight though she is dismissive, and simply plows through to wherever her destination is.

Well, if anything, he will stay in the shadows watching her, making sure she stays safe and unharmed, until she needs him.

Cricket makes it to her destination and knocks loudly on the door, hoping he is actually there and not still working. When the door opens she sighs in relief to see his face, knowing it could have been one of the children instead, and she needed an adult to talk to, someone who understood her without even knowing where she was actually from.

"Cricket, what are you doing here...are you ok? You look terrible, have you been crying?" Bard asks, looking at her with worry and opening the door all of the way.

"I..no, I'm not ok Bard, I'm really not. I need someone to talk to, may I please come in?" she asks, one tear making it down her face, and he nods, letting her in without hesitation, closing it behind him. Nori watches from a distance, wondering why she would go to him instead of one of the company, and proceeds to get closer to the house and find an area where he can listen in to the conversation.


End file.
